^  ImLr^. 


/^-^y- 


f  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY,^ 

^  '  Princeton,  N.  J.  | 


r 


DISCOURSES 


DELIVERED  IN 


MURRAY   STREET  CHURCH 


ON  SABBATH  EVENINGS, 


DURING  THE  MONTHS  OF 


MARCH,  APRIL,  AND  MAY,  1830. 


DR. SPRING 
DR.  COX 
DR. SKINNER 
DR.  DE  WITT 
DR.  MILLER 
DR.  SPRAGUE 


DR. CARNAHAN 
DR.  WOODBRlDGi; 
DR.  RICE 
DR.  WOODS 
DR.  WAYLAND 
DR. SNODGRASK 


DR.  GRIFFIN. 


NEW  YORK: 
HENRY  C.  SLEIGHT,  CLINTON-HALL 

PRINTED  BY  SLEIGHT  AND  ROBINSON. 

1830. 


Southern  District  of  New  York,  ss. 

BE  IT  REMEMBERED,  That  on  the  eighth  day  of  November,  Anno  Domini 
3830,  in  the  fifty-lifth  yesir  of  the  Independence  of  tlic  United  States  of  America, 
William  D.  Snodgrass,  of  the  said  district,  hath  deposited  in  this  office  the  title 
of  a  bool<,  tlie  right  whereof  he  claims  as  proprietor,  in  the  words  following, 
to  wit : 

"  Discourses  delivered  in  Murray  street  Church,  on  Sabbath  evenings,  during 
the  months  of  March,  April,  and  May,  1830.  By  Dr.  Spring,  Dr.  Cox,  Dr.'Skinner, 
Dr.  De  Witt,  Dr.  Miller,  Dr.  Spraguc,  Dr.  Carnalian,  Dr.  Woodbridge,  Dr. 
Rice,  Dr.  Woods,  Dr.  Wayland,  Dr.  Snodgrass,  Dr.  Griffin." 

In  conformity  to  the  act  of  Congress  of  the  United  States,  entitled  "  An  act 
for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  by  secuiii;.'  ili.  (  opii  s  nf  maps,  charts,  and 
books,  to  the  authors  and  proprietors  of  sur 1 1  icpl.^,  ilmiiii;  the  times  therein 
mentioned;"  and  also  to  an  act,  entitled  ".\ii  n  i  Miiuiliinentary  to  an  act, 
entitled  An  act  for  the  encouragement  of  IciiriiiiiL:,  In  m  c  nring  the  copies  of 
maps,  charts,  and  books,  to  the  authors  and  propiietcirs  of  such  copies,  during 
the  times  therein  mentioned,  and  extending  the  benefits  tliereof  to  the  arts  of 
designing,  engraving,  and  etching  historical  and  other  prints." 

FREDERICK  I.  BETTS, 

Clerk  of  the  Soulhcrii  District  ofJVew  York. 


The  Discourses,  contained  in  this  volume,  were  prepared, 
at  the  request  of  the  pastor  of  the  church,  in  which  they  were 
delivered,  together  with  other  clergymen,  residing  in  the  City 
of  New  York.  It  was  thought,  by  them,  that  a  course  of 
Sabbath-evening  exercises,  on  such  subjects  as  are  here  dis- 
cussed, and  by  ministers  residing  in  different  parts  of  the 
country,  could  not  fail  to  be  interesting  and  edifying.  The 
result  has,  in  a  good  degree,  justified  their  expectations.  And, 
in  compliance  with  a  wish,  expressed  by  many,  who  were  pre- 
sent during  the  delivery,  the  whole  series  is  now  presented  to 
the  public,  through  the  medium  of  the  press. 


f    PEIIIGETOII    X 

trb'iSf^^ENTs, 


DISCOURSE   I. 

THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  CHRISTIAN  KNOWLEDGE, 

BY  GARDINER  SPRING,  D.  D. 
Pastor  of  the  Brick  Presbyterian  Church,  JVew  York. 

Philippians  i.  9. 

"  And  this  I  pray  that  your  love  may  abound  yet  more  and  more,  in  know 

ledge  and  in  all  judgment." ■      Page  U 

DISCOURSE  11. 

THE  LAW  OF  GOD. 

BY    SAMUEL  H.  COX,  D.  D. 

Pastor  of  Laiffht  street  Presbyterian  Church,  JVew  York, 

Romans  vii.  12. 

"Wherefore  llic  law  is  lioly,  and  the  commandment  holy,  and  jusl,  and 

good."  - 41 


DISCOURSE  III. 

HUMAN  DEPRAVITY,  OR  MAN  A  FALLEN  BEIN(; 

BY  THOMAS  H.  SKINl^ER,  D.  D. 

Pastor  of  the  Fifth  Presbyterian  Church,  Philadelphia. 
Romans  v.  20. 
Where  sin  abounded,  gr.acc  did  much  more  abound." 


ruNTKN'l'S. 

DISCOURSE  IV. 

THE  NECESSITY  01'  ATONEMENT.  ^      1*^  "^' 

Professor  of  Bihlical  Literature  in  the  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Kcformed 
Dutch  Church,  at  JVeio  Brunswick,  Kew  Jersey. 

Hebrews  Lv.  22. 
"  Withoiii  shfidding  of  blood  is  no  remission."       -----      121 


DISCOURSE  V. 

THE  ENMITY  OF  THE  HUMAN  HEART  AGAINST  THE  CHARAC- 
TER AND  GOVERNMENT  OF  GOD. 

RY  JOHN  WOODBRIDGE,  D.  n. 

Pastor  of  the  Bowery  Presbyterian  Church,  JVew  York- 

Romans  viii.7. 
"  Tim  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God."  -----        161 

DISCOURSE  VI. 

THE  REJECTION  OP  REVEALED  TRUTH  REFERABLE  TO 

BIOR.IL  DEPRAVITY. 

\^'" 

BY  SAMUEL  MILLER,  D.  D. 

Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History  and  Church  Government,  in  the  Theological 
Seminary,  at  Princeton,  JVew  Jersey. 

Hebrews  iii.  12. 
"  Take  lieed,  brethren,  lest  tlierc  be  in  any  of  you  an  evil  lieart  of  unbelief,  in 
departing  from  tlie  living  God."         ...       -       -  -  ■     .        195 

DISCOURSE  VII. 

REVEALED  RELIGION,  THE  ONLY  SOURCE  OF  TRUE 

r  ft 
HAPPINESS.  ^t     1  \p 

BY  WILLfAM  B.  .^PRAGUE,  D.  D. 

Pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  Jllbany. 

John  vi.  68. 
•  J.ord,  lo  wliom  Kliall  we  go  7    Tliou  iiast  the  words  of  eternal  life."       241 


CONTENTS.  VU 

DISCOURSE  VIII. 

THE  DIVINE  TESTIMONY  TO  THE  RESURRECTION  OV  CHRIST. 

BY  JAMES  CAllNAHAN,  D.  D. 

President  of  M'assau-Hall,  Princeton,  JVcw  Jersey. 

Acts  v.  32. 

"And  we  are  his  witnesses  of  these  tilings;  and  so  also  is  the  Holy  Ghost, 

whom  God  hath  given  to  them  that  obey  him."        -       -       -       ..       289 

DISCOURSE  IX. 

THE  GLORY  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

•'  L-  ■  ■ 

BY  JOHN  H.  RICE,  D.  U.       ' 

Professor  of  Theology  in  the  Union  Theological  Seminary,  Virginia. 

2.  Corinthians  iii.  11. 

"For  if  that  which  was  done  away  was  glorious,  much  more  that  which  re- 

inaineth  is  glorious."  ----------       •>— > 

DISCOURSE  X. 

THE  PROVINCE  OF  REASON  IN  MATTERS  OF  RELIGION. 

BY  LEONARD  WOODS,  D.  D. 

Professor  of  Christian  Theology  in  the  Tlicological  Seminary,  at  Aiidover, 
Massachusetts. 

Psalm  cxix.  105. 169-  33,  34. 

"Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto  my  feet,  and  a  light  unto  my  path— Let  my  cry 

come  before  thee,  O  Lord :  give  me  understanding  according  to  thy  word.— 

Teach  me,  O  Lord,  the  way  of  thy  statutes ;— give  me  understanding,  and  I  shall 

keep  thy  word." -       -        -       361 

DISCOURSE  XL 

THE  CERTAIN  TRItJMPH  OF  THE  REDEEMER. 

BY  FRANCIS  WAYLAND,  D.  D.      ^ 

President  of  Brown  University,  Providence,  Rhode  Island. 

1.  CoraNTUiANS  xv.  25. 

"  For  he  must  reign,  till  he  hath  put  all  enemies  under  his  feel."         -        393 


vm  CONTENTS. 

DISCOURSE  XII. 

THE  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE  REDEMPTION  OVER  THE  APOSTACY. 


BY  WILLIAM  D.  SNODGRASS,  D.  D.  /  7'"f . 

Pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  in  Murray  street,  J^cm  York 


-     /c! 


Romans  v.  15. 
"  But  not  as  Uic  oflencc,  so  also  is  the  free  gift." 


DISCOURSE  XIII. 

THE  EFFECT  OF  THE   GOSPEL,  IN   EXALTING  THE  CREATOR, 

AND  HUMBLING  THE  CREATURE.  "* 

I    ' 
BY  EDWARD  D.  GRIFFIN,  D.  D. 

President  of  Williams  College,  Williamstown,  Massachusetts, 

3.  Corinthians  i.  31. 

"That,  according  as  it  is  written,  he  that  glorictii,  let  him  glory  in  Uie 

Lord." -       „       .       471 


DISCOURSE   I. 


XHK  IMPORTANCE  OF  CHRISTIAN  KNOWLEDGJi. 


Philippians  i.  9. — "  And  tliis  I  pray,  that  your  love  may  ubouiul  yet  more  ami 
more,  in  knowledge  and  in  all  judgment." 


It  is  natural,  at  the  threshold  of  the  enterprise  to 
which  these  lectures  are  devoted,  to  endeavour  to  inter- 
est you  in  the  worthiness  ol'  their  object.  To  interest 
men  in  the  truths  of  the  Bible,  is  the  great  reason  why 
a  revelation  was  given.  We  know  it  is  impossible  for 
the  mass  of  mankind  to  become  adepts  in  theological 
science ;  and  yet  there  are  few  but  may,  and  ought  to 
be  familiar  with  the  great  doctrines  of  revelation.  One 
would  think  it  a  reproach  to  good  men,  not  to  be  fami- 
har  with  the  truths  of  the  Bible.  You  would  not  ex- 
pect a  professed  Stoic  to  be  ignorant  of  the  doctrines  of 
Zeno ;  ner  a  Mohammedan  to  be  unacquainted  with 


12  THE   IMPORTANCE  OF  DISC,  i- 

the  Koran ;  nor  a  Brahmin  to  l)c  uninstructed  in  the 
Shaster.  And  why  should  a  Christian  be  a  stranger  to 
the  truths  of  Christianity  ?  Our  design  in  this  intro- 
duction to  the  following  series  of  discourses  is,  there- 
fore, to  lay  before  you  a  few  considerations,  illustrative 
of  the  importance  of  Christian  knowledge.  To  give 
some  form  and  order  to  our  remarks,  we  observe, 

I.  The  subjects  irhich  Christianity  presents,  are 
themselves  the  most  important  and  sublime  in  the 
universe. 

Reaching  from  the  eternity  which  the  Inmiortal 
Creator  mhabited  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  to 
the  eternity  we  shall  inhabit  after  this  world  shall  have 
passed  away,  they  are  literally  of  infinite  extent  and 
compass.  The  light  of  revelation  first  leads  our  minds' 
up  to  Him,  who,  though  he  dwells  in  light  unapproacha- 
ble, .and  fills  the  universe  with  his  presence,  is  about 
our  path  and  about  our  bed ;  to  Him,  on  whom  all 
beings  depend,  from  the  arch-angel  to  the  worm,  to 
whom  all  are  indebted  for  their  powers  and  faculties, 
and  from  whom  they  derive  their  comforts,  and  who, 
while  he  is  slow  to  anger  and  of  great  kindness,  is  ter- 
rible in  majesty.  Then  it  makes  us  acquainted  with 
his  vast  and  perfect  purposes,  comprehending  all  his 
works,  and  all  the  events  of  his  providence  in  this  world 
and  other  worlds,  in  time  and  through  interminable  ages. 
It  then  directs  our  thoughts  to  the  great  law  which  he  has 
published,  by  which  he  establishes  the  moral  order  and 


biSC.   1.  CHRISTIAN  KNOWLEDGE.  13 

liaimony  of  intellig-ent  beings,  both  in  respect  to  one 
another  and  to  him,  and  by  which  he  throws  such 
everlasting  responsibleness  on  all  worlds,  and  on  every 
creature.  Next  to  these  elevating  themes,  it  leads  us  to 
take  a  view  of  that  world  of  wonders,  the  creature 
man — his  intellectual  and  moral  nature — his  origin, 
his  primeval  rectitude,  and  his  fatal  apostacy — a  mys- 
tery to  himself,  a  mystery  to  angels,  and  yet,  more 
than  all  the  works  of  God,  the  means  of  drawing  forth 
the  manifold  glory  of  his  Maker.  Afterwards,  we 
listen  to  the  glad  tidings  of  great  joy,  amiounced  in 
the  wonderful  method  of  redemption,  by  the  incarna- 
tion and  death,  resurrection  and  intercession,  media- 
torial reign  and  triumph  of  God's  co-equal  son.  Then, 
we  dwell  on  the  character  and  office  of  the  Divine  Spi- 
rit. We  see  the  benighted  soul  of  man,  under  hi.s 
powerful  influence,  brought  out  of  darkness  into  mar- 
vellous light ;  we  see  how  this  guilty,  impoverished 
creature  is  furnished  with  every  gift  and  grace ;  how 
he  is  enriched  and  adorned,  and  made  meet  to  be  a 
partaker  of  the  inheritance  with  saints  in  light. 
And  then,  when  we  have  become  familiar  with  pro- 
vidences and  ordinances,  with  hopes  and  fears,  witli 
death  and  the  grave,  and  with  the  resurrection  both  of 
the  just  and  the  unjust,  we  are  introduced  to  eter- 
nity. Through  the  light  that  here  descends  upon  us. 
we  see  the  life  and  immortality  that  are  brought  to  light 
in  the  gospel:  we  descry  that  v;ist  continent  lb;it  lies  be- 


14  I  HE  IMPORTANCE  OF  DISC.   I. 

vend  the  grave ;  Ave  see  tlie  Ijoiindless  universe  that 
stretches  itself  immeasurably  beyond.  There,  scenes 
and  prospects  rise,  that  alternately  appal  and  enchant 
us — the  Son  of  man  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven — 
the  thlonc  of  judgement — the  assembled  universe — 
the  final  sentence — the  everlasting  retribution — the 
eternal  heaven — the  eternal  hell ! 

And,  in  such  a  research,  is  there  nothing  worthy  ? 
As  mere  topics  of  thought  and  intellectual  cultiva- 
tion, all  other  themes,  in  comparison  with  these. 
may  be  left  out  of  sight  and  remembrance.  Every 
other  department  of  human  science  vanishes  and  fades 
away  before  the  majesty  and  splendour  of  divine  truth. 
These  are  the  things  "  into  which  the  angels  desire  to 
look."  Of  all  others,  topics  hke  these  are  objects  of 
inquiry  for  which  the  mind  of  man,  formed  in  the  image 
of  its  Maker,  seems  appropriately  designated.  The  per- 
ceptions, the  judgment,  the  memory,  the  imagination, 
the  conscience,  the  very  emotions  of  the  soul,  fall  far 
below  their  high  destination,  when  they  can  no  longer 
be  absorbed  in  themes  like  these.  Nor  are  they  dry 
and  heartless  speculations,  which  the  Scriptures  reveal, 
and  which  a  conscientious  mind  may  throw  aside  as  of 
no  practical  moment.  Nor  are  thej'^  mere  ideal  schemes, 
which  may  amuse  the  spirit  of  speculation  and  then 
be  rejected  with  impunity.  They  are  inwoven  witli 
all  that  is  real  in  our  enjoyments  and  sufferings  ;  with 
all  that  is  cheeiing  in  our  hopes  and  terrible  in  our  fears; 


DISC.  1.  CHRISTIAN  KNOWLEDGE.  15 

with  all  that  is  solemn  and  affecting  in  our  accounta- 
bleness  and  immoitahty.  Whatever  is  fearful  and 
weighty  in  the  rights  of  the  Creator  and  the  obUgations 
of  creatures,  in  the  designs  of  the  Sovereign  and  the 
destiny  of  his  subjects,  is  here  disclosed.  There  is 
no  truth  in  the  Scriptures  which,  in  its  proximate  or 
remote  relations,  has  not  a  legitimate  bearing  upon  the 
character,  the  duty,  the  condition  of  all  rational  agents. 
The  titith  of  God  is  as  interesting  to  the  poor  as  to  the 
rich  ;  as  interesting  to  the  low  as  to  the  high ;  as  in- 
teresting to  people  as  to  ministers ;  as  interesting  to 
this  world,  as  to  that  glorious  world  whence  it  emanated. 
When  all  that  is  embodied  in  the  magnificent  systems 
of  human  learning  shall  have  Ijeen  forgotten ;  when 
the  sun  shall  have  been  turned  into  darkness ;  when 
these  orbs,  the  nature,  phenomena,  and  laws  of  which 
philosophers  have  occupied  centuries  to  explain,  shall 
have  mouldered  to  ashes  ;  when  this  earth,  whose 
bowels  and  treasures  have  been  explored  with  such 
penetrating  diligence,  shall  have  been  burnt  up ;  the 
system  of  truth,  which  God  has  revealed,  will  exist 
immutably  the  same,  and  be  exhibited  in  augmented 
splendour,  and  beheld  with  increasing  interest  and 
admiration. 

II.  Just  conceptions  of  the  truth   op  Goi> 

ARE  indispensable  TO  THE  POSSESSION  OF  TRUE 
HOLINESS. 

No  principle   is  more  exphcitly  recognised   in  the 
Scriptures,  or  commends  itself  more  to  the  approbation 


16  'I'HE  IMPORTANCE  OF  DISC.   1. 

of  common  sense  and  sound  experience,  than  that  the 
change  of  character  from  sin  to  hohness,  from  man's 
native  and  practical  wickedness  to  the  rectitude  of  the 
gospel,  which  is  every  where  so  much  insisted  on  as  the 
indispensable  pre-requisite  to  the  enjoyment  of  the 
divine  favour  and  kingdom,  is  effected  through  the 
instrumentality  of  divine  truth.  "  Of  his  own  Avill 
begat  he  us  with  the  word  of  truth."  "  Faith  cometh 
by  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the  v/ord  of  God."  The 
divine  conduct  toward  men  every  where  recognises 
their  rationality  ;  and  no  where  more  sensibly,  than  in 
the  method  of  his  grace.  In  exciting  proper  affections 
toward  the  various  objects  to  which  they  sustain  a  moral 
relation,  he  brings  those  objects  to  the  view  of  the  mind. 
Of  the  great  multitude  already  sanctified  by  his  grace, 
it  may  be  said,  they  had  slumbered  in  sin,  unless  they 
had  been  instructed,  alarmed,  convinced,  and  humbled 
through  the  instrumentality  of  truth.  They  had  gone 
down  to  the  grave  and  to  the  bar  of  God  with  a  lie  in 
their  right  hand,  had  not  he,  who  convinces  the  world 
of  sin,  of  righteousness  and  of  judgment  to  come, 
shewed  them  the  things  that  are  Christ's.  And 
of  the  multitudes  who  are  now  ignorant  of  God  and 
far  from  righteousness,  must  it  be  said,  that  they 
perish  in  their  sins,  until  they  become  acquainted 
with  God;  and  until  he,  by  his  convincing,  quickening, 
and  renovating  power,  make  those  views  of  truth  lovely, 
which  were  once  odious :  and  reconcile  them  to  the 


DISC.   1.  CHRISTIAN  KNOWLKDCiK.  J< 

declarations,  character,  and  demands  of  a  God  of  trntli 
and  holiness. 

What  is  holiness,  but  obedience  to  truth  ? — Truth 
desired,  loved,  obeyed, — this  is  the  rectitude  of  moral 
beings.  But  how  is  the  truth  of  God  to  be  obeyed, 
unless  it  be  knoivn  7  Is  it  enough,  that  it  be  inscribed 
on  the  pages  of  revelation  ?  Is  it  enough,  that  it  be 
sealed  up  in  a  foreign  and  dead  language?  Is  i(, 
enough,  that  it  be  announced  from  the  pulpit?  To 
every  community  might  it  be  said,  "  Ye  worship  ye 
know  not  what ;"  on  all  their  altars  might  it  be  in- 
scribed, "  To  THE  UNKNOWN  GoD,"  SO  loug  as  they 
remain  ignorant  of  his  truth.  How  can  the  mind  be 
titted  for  right  volitions,  except  by  a  just  apprehension 
of  divine  objects  ?  Suppose  a  man  in  a  Christian  con- 
gregation, as  ignorant  of  the  truth  of  God  as  the  Pa- 
gans ;  is  there  any  charm  in  the  privileges  of  the  gos 
pel  that  will  break  the  bonds  of  his  iniquity  ?  What 
if  he  denies  that  God  is  the  creator,  and  preserver,  and 
governor  of  the  universe ;  will  he  be  sensible  of  his 
dependence  or  accountableness  ?  What  if  he  rejects 
the  divinity  and  messiahship  of  Jesus  Christ  ?  will  not 
the  practical  consequence  be,  that  he  seeks  no  interest 
in  his  redemption  ?  What  if  he  believes  in  the  innate 
rectitude  and  practical  integrity  of  the  human  heart : 
will  he  ever  be  voluntarily  self-abased  for  his  sinful- 
ness ?  What  if  he  strikes  from  his  creed  the  atone- 
ment of  the  Son  of  God,  the  agency  and  oliice-worlc 


lb  IllK  IMPORTANCE  Ul'  DISC.  J. 

of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  threaten  ings  of  everlasting  pu- 
nishment, and  never  detects  nor  eradicates  these  errors  : 
will  he  not  find  that  his  notions  have  a  most  sensible 
effect  upon  his  practice— that  he  makes  no  effort  to  flee 
from  the  wrath  to  come — and  that  his  intellectual  igno- 
rance and  his  intellectual  deviations  are  ruinous? 
Nothing  is  more  obvious,  than  that  doctrinal  knowledge 
is  essential  to  the  existence  of  true  religion  in  the  soul. 
There  can  be  no  spiritual  affections,  where  there  are  no 
intellectual  perceptions  of  the  truth.  It  is  the  unchang- 
ing law  of  our  intellectual  and  moral  existence,  that  the 
heart  is  affected  through  the  medium  of  the  under- 
standing. There  is  no  possible  way  by  which  the 
means  of  grace  can  be  effectual  to  the  conversion  of 
men,  except  by  an  acquaintance  with  the  truths  they 
inculcate.  The  immediate  effect  of  them  is  the  com- 
munication of  truth  to  the  mind ;  and  without  this 
impression,  men  might  as  well  remain  in  the  darkness 
of  heathenism,  as  enjoy  the  privileges  of  the  gospel 
But, 

III.  If  there  is  any  justice  in  these  remarks,  they 
suggest  another  thought  of  equal  importance.  With- 
out THE  SPIRIT  OF  THEOLOGICAL  RESEARCH,  IT  IS 
IMPOSSIBLE  TO  MAKE  RAPID  ADVANCES  IN  THE 
DIVINE  LIFE. 

As  holy  affections  must  in  the  first  instance  be 
exercised  toward  some  definite  object,  so  must  they 
routinue   to  be    exercised   toward  some  object,  well 


DISC.    I.  (HillSTIAN  KNOWLP^DtiE.  19 

defined,  aud  clearly  niideistood.  Divine  truth  is 
so  e:5tactly  accordant  with  the  affections  which  the  Holy 
Spirit  produces  in  the  soul,  that  they  are  kept  alive 
only  by  means  of  this  happy  influence.  It  is  the  still, 
small  voice  of  truth  that  vibrates  on  the  hearts  of  good 
men.  Truth — sometmies  elicited  by  the  dispensations 
of  Providence,  sometimes  read  and  heard,  but  in  what- 
ever way  communicated,  truth  still — is  the  great  means 
which  the  Spirit  of  God  employs  to  promote  the  sancti- 
tication  of  the  church.  But  how  can  the  truth  become 
the  means  of  augmented  holiness,  othenvise  than  l)y 
being  understood  ?  Our  Lord  prayed  for  his  disciples, 
•  Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth,  thy  word  is  truth." 
Believers  are  exhorted  to  "  grow  in  grace  and  in  the 
knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ."' 
They  are  said  to  be  "  fed  with  knowledge  and  under- 
standing." Nor  is  it  possible  for  them  to  have  invigo- 
rated impressions  of  the  beauty  and  loveliness  of 
spiritual  objects,  without  an  invigorated  view  of  those 
objects  themselves. 

The  people  of  God,  though  initiated  into  the  privi- 
leges of  his  kingdom,  have  much  to  acquire,  before 
they  grow  in  grace  with  observable  rapidity.  They 
have  much  to  learn  of  God,  that  they  may  desire 
greater  manifestations  of  his  glory ;  much  to  learn  of 
themselves  and  their  imperfections,  that  they  may  be 
stimulated  to  greater  attainments ;  much  to  learn  of 
their  obligations,  that  they  may  press  after  perfect 
3 


20  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  DISC.  U 

holinesri  ;  much  to  learn  of  those  mighty  considerations 
to  spiritual  attainment,  which  direct,  encourage,  and 
stimulate  them  in  their  heavenly  career — which  rouse 
them  from  their  slumljers,  reproach  them  for  their 
backslidings,  and  give  increasing  constancy  and  uni- 
formity to  their  purposes  and  conduct.  We  are  apt  to 
lose  sight  of  the  ignorance  of  good  men,  and  of  the 
powerful  tendency  of  their  minds  to  ignorance  of 
God  above  all  other  subjects.  There  is  even  in  their 
bosoms  the  same  remaining  aveision  to  the  doctrines 
of  the  gospel,  that  is  found  to  the  duties  of  the  gospel : 
arid  there  is  the  same  reason  for  watchfulness  and  cau- 
tion in  maintaining  the  truth  of  God,  that  is  indispen- 
sable to  the  vigorous  exercise  of  holy  affection.  They 
are  equally  self-denying.  Hence  we  find,  that  when 
Christian  men  decline  in  the  spirit  and  duties  of  piety, 
they  are  very  apt  to  dechne  in  the  purity  of  their  doc- 
trinal views.  And  here  lies  the  necessity  of  doctrinal 
instruction,  and  doctrinal  research.  Let  the  instruction^ 
of  the  gospel  illuminate  their  understandings,  and  its 
heavy  truths  sink  into  their  hearts,  and  the  more  secure 
will  they  be  from  dangerous  apostacies,  and  the  bettei- 
enabled  to  maintain  their  heavenward  course. 

It  is  indeed  lamentably  true,  that  there  are  instances 
in  which  growth  in  knowledge  does  not  secure  growth 
in  grace.  And  the  reason  is,  truth  does  not  make  its 
appropriate  imjjression  upon  their  minds.  There  is 
^ionie  countervailing  sin,  which  is  superior  in  its  in- 


DISC.  1.  CHRISTIAN  KNOWLEDCK.  21. 

fluence  to  all  the  oblis^ations  of  known  truth.  Good 
men  always  grow  in  grace  in  proportion  to  two  things  : 
the  extent  of  their  knowledge,  and  the  iinpressmi 
which  their  knowledge  produces.  A  man  who  is  ac- 
quainted with  a  few  truths  may  have  more  piety  than 
the  man  who  is  acquainted  with  many ;  because  the 
few  which  he  knows,  make  a  deeper  impression  than 
the  many  which  are  known  by  those  that  are  more  ex- 
tensively informed.  The  obligations  to  increased  holi- 
ness, and  the  actual  hohness  of  every  gracious  affection, 
are  augmented  by  every  accession  of  divine  knowledge  : 
and  other  things  being  equal,  those  who  make  the 
most  rapid  advances  in  the  one,  must  necessarily  make 
the  most  rapid  advances  in  the  other. 

There  are  not  wanting  those  who  question  the  expe- 
diency of  devoting  much  of  their  time  to  the  study  of 
doctrines,  lest  it  should  impair  the  vigour,  exhaust  the 
tenderness,  and  freeze  the  fervour  of  their  piety.  '  We 
do  not  need,'  say  they,  '  so  much  dry  discussion.  We 
desire  more  of  the  milk  of  the  gospel ;  more  to  rouse 
and  quicken  us  ;  more  to  break  up  the  fallow  ground, 
and  urge  us  on  to  practical  godliness.  We  need  usefiil 
information ;  but  we  would  not  exercise  ourselves  in 
matters  too  high  for  us,  to  the  neglect  of  our  practical 
duty  towards  God  and  man.'  Is  it  so  then,  that  "  igno- 
rance is  the  mother  of  devotion  ?"  Are  there  doctrines 
of  the  Bible  which  do  not  afiect  the  practice  of  piety 
— increasing  the  love  of  it,  confirming  the  habit  of 


'i2  rm:  i.mpdr'L'axce  of  disc.  j. 

it.  and  ai  every  i^'tep  elevatins^  the  mind  toward  God, 
and  invigorating  the  desire  to  be  hke  liini  ?  Is  the 
tlieoiy  of  Christianity  at  war  with  the  practice  of  Chris- 
tianity ?  Do  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible  weaken  the 
force  of  moral  obhgation  !  Of  all  studies,  religion  is 
the  most  practical.  Doctrines  that  cannot  be  appUed  to 
practical  purposes  are  no  part  of  the  Bible.  Let  the 
objector  beware  how  he  assumes,  that  there  is  any  prin- 
ciple revealed  in  the  divine  oracles  that  has  no  practical 
tendency.  Time  will  show  how  empty  and  superficial 
is  that  piety,  that  depreciates  the  great  doctrines  of  the 
gospel,  and  that  is  not  habitually  inwoven  with  cleai-. 
intellectual  perceptions  of  truth.  It  is  not  indeed  ne- 
(^essary,  that  men  should  be  familiar  with  all  the  truths 
<if  the  Bible  in  order  to  be  exemplary  Christians.'  To 
some,  God  has  imparted  ten  talents,  and  to  others  two. 
and  to  others  one.  Nor  is  the  ma-e  attainment  ol 
theological  knowledge  the  great  end  of  living.  "  Be- 
hold, the  fear  of  the  Lord,  that  is  wisdom,  and  to  depart 
from  evil,  that  is  understanding."  And  yet,  the  hum- 
ble Christian,  who,  like  Enoch,  walks  with  God,  will 
tell  you  that  the  clearer  his  views  of  God,  the  more  fer- 
vent is  liis  love  to  his  great  and  amiable  character  ;  the 
clearer  his  views  of  sin,  the  deeper  and  more  self- 
abasing  his  repentance  ;  the  clearer  his  views  of  Christ. 
the  stronger  his  faith ;  the  clearer  his  views  of  dut}-. 
the  higher  is  his  delight  in  performing  it ;  the  clearer 
his  views  of  the  wants  of  his  fellow-men,  the  more 
inexpressible  are  his  desires  to  become  the  lienefactor  ol 


DISi  .    1.  <'H]11STIAX  KNOWLiiDGE.  2',i 

J  he  human  race,  and  the  blessmg  of  the  world ;  the 
clearer  his  views  of  the  glorious  scenes  beyond  the 
grave,  the  more  ardent  are  the  longings  of  his  soul 
to  be  absent  from  the  body  and  present  with  the  Lord  : 
and  the  more,  with  open  face,  he  beholds  in  these 
mirrors  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  is  he  changed  into 
the  same  image,  ii-om  glory  to  glory,  even  as  by  the 
Spiiit  of  the  Lord.  It  is  because  the  doctrines  of  reli- 
gion so  intimately  affect  the  spirit  and  subject  of  reli- 
gion, that  there  is  such  a  charm  thrown  around  every 
well  directed  and  humble  inquiry  into  the  truth,  as  it  is 
in  Jesus.  There  are  seasons  when  other  objects  are 
gradually  excluded  from  the  mind,  and  the  things 
pertaining  to  godhness  absorb  the  attention,  and  every 
grace  is  in  active  exercise.  The  veil  between  time 
and  eternity  is  drawn  aside.  Future  things  appear 
present,  and  invisible  things  appear  visible  ;  and  there 
is  nothing  to  impede  the  most  sensible  exercise  of 
holy  affections.  Thus  it  was  with  David :  "  While  I 
was  musing,"  says  he, ''  the  fire  burned."  Thus  it  was 
with  the  disciples  on  their  way  to  Emmaus  :  "  Did  not 
our  hearts  burn  within  us,  while  he  talked  -with  us  b}/ 
the  wa)'^,  and  while  he  opened  to  us  the  scriptures  ?" 
And  thus  it  is  with  every  child  of  God,  when  he  is 
advanced  to  high  degrees  of  holiness.     But, 

IV.    The    attainment   of   religious    know- 
ledge   IS    THE    SOURCE    OF    PURE    AND    ELEVATED 

KN.TOVMENT.     If  the  rational  and  immortal  mind  is 


24:  thp:  importance  of  disc.  i. 

invested  with  the  capacity  for  constant  and  perpetual 
progression ;  if  this  thinking  and  active  existence 
within  us  is  capable  eventually  of  knowing  all  that  can 
be  known,  and  of  rising  to  higher  and  higher  attain- 
ment, without  measure  and  without  end  ;  then  is  there 
in  the  mind  of  a  devout  and  well  informed  christian,  a 
foundation  for  pure  and  elevated  joy.  Of  all  the  pros- 
pective emotions,  the  desire  of  knowledge  is  one  of 
the  most  exalted.  "  Knowledge  is  pleasant  to  the  soul," 
The  pleasures  of  intellect  rise  as  far  above  the  plea- 
sures of  sense,  as  the  mind  is  superior  to  the  body. 
One  of  the  distingviished  advantages  of  a  well  culti- 
vated and  well  disciplined  mind,  is  the  habit  of  ab- 
stracting it  at  pleasure  from  the  objects  of  sense,  and 
directing  it  to  the  varied  combinations  of  truth.  And 
the  intellectual  enjoyment  resulting  from  this  exercise 
bears  a  proportion  to  the  excellence,  of  its  object.  If 
pleasure  attends  the  sublime  operations  of  the  intellect 
in  other  sciences ;  if  the  men  of  research,  and  the  men 
of  letters,  as  they  wander  over  the  regions  of  intellect, 
felicitate  themselves  on  their  past  attainments  and  their 
new  advances ;  how  much  purer,  how  much  higher 
the  felicity  consequent  on  advances  in  the  knowledge  of 
God  !  The  happiness  resulting  from  thought  on  other 
subjects,  is  little  better  than  the  grosser  indulgences  of 
the  animal  world,  compared  with  the  holy  pleasures 
experienced  from  the  various  exhibitions  of  divine 
truth.      God  and  his  truth   are  the  purest  objects  in 


JJISC.   1.  CHRISTIAN  KNOWLKDGK.  25 

tlie  universe  ;  they  are  the  brightest,  the  most  complete^ 
and  most  durable  ;  and  the  joy  that  springs  from 
them,  is  the  purest,  the  most  vivid,  the  fullest  and  the 
most  indestructible  joy.  The  truth  of  God  is  the  natu- 
ral aliment  of  all  spiritual  consolation.  The  best,  the 
most  comfortable  seasons  with  which  the  people  of  God 
are  favoured  in  the  present  world,  are  those  in  which 
they  enjoy  clear,  exalting,  and  humbling  views  of  truth. 
When,  in  theii-  progressive  acquisition  of  divine  know- 
ledge, the  true  nature  of  God  is  unfolded  to  their  view, 
and  all  that  is  glorious  in  the  divine  power,  wisdom, 
goodness,  justice,  mercy,  and  faithfulness,  is  disclosed 
to  their  gratified  inspection,  there  is  something  in 
the  view  that  captivates  and  transforms  the  mind. 
When  they  gaze  at  the  light  which  is  thrown  in  upon 
the  world  in  which  they  dwell,  and  upon  other  crea- 
tures and  other  worlds,  from  the  perfection  of  the  di- 
\  ine  plan,  and  the  wisdom  of  the  divine  administra- 
tions— all  shining  more  and  more  resplendent  by  all 
the  darkness  that  has  in  vain  attempted  to  obscure 
them — and  when  they  see  all  the  apparently  diverg- 
ing rays  in  the  moral  sphere  converging  in  one  lu- 
minous point,  the  cross  of  Christ ;  every  thing  is  gilded 
with  light,  and  there  is  no  darkness  at  all.  All  that  is 
untoward  in  this  world,  and  in  other  worlds ;  all  that 
is  unmeasured  in  the  invisible  futurity — the  hoUness 
and  the  sin — the  blessings  and  the  curses — the  glories 
and  the  terrors — in  their  governed  subserviency  to  the 


26  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  UltSC.    I  . 

best  of  piiiposes,  is  contemplated  with  •  alternate  won- 
der, submission,  and  joy.  "  Thy  testimonies,"  says- 
the  happy  Psalmist,  "  are  wonderful ;  therefore,  doth 
my  sold  keep  them.  I  rejoice  at  thy  word,  as  on(; 
that  findeth  great  spoil.  Thy  word  have  I  hid  in 
my  heart.     I  will  dehght  myself  in  thy  statutes." 

In  moral  science  as  well  as  every  other,  good  men 
begin  their  intellectual  career  from  well  nigh  absolute 
ignorance.  And  yet,  from  the  eager  desire  of  know- 
ledge, there  are  minds,  even  of  an  humble  order,  which 
make  rapid  acquisitions  in  the  knowledge  of  God. 
The  veriest  infant  in  the  school  of  Christ  finds  his  im- 
derstanding  satisfied,  his  heart  filled  with  love,  his  soul 
refreshed  at  the  discovery  of  some  new  and  important 
principle  in  the  word  of  God.  And  as  he  passes  on 
from  one  principle  to  another,  and  contemplates  one 
(ruth  after  another  in  its  divine  nature,  its  wide  con- 
nections, and  eternal  consequences  ;  as  he  discovers  the 
harmony  between  them,  the  unexampled  symmetry  of 
1  he  parts,  and  the  beauty  of  the  whole ;  his  soul  is 
I  apt  in  admiration,  and  he  is  allured  by  joyful, commu- 
nion with  things  unseen.  He  feels  himself  in  a  world 
of  knowledge — new  and  illimitable.  His  are  regions 
of  intellectual  pleasuie,  where  the  ardent  eye  of  genius 
fades,  and  the  proudest  wing  of  genius  tires.  Al- 
ready, his  joys  bear  a  resemblance  to  those  wher(i 
iriitli  opens  new  and  infinite  sources  of  delight,  and 
s;iin(s  t'md  angels  rise  higher  in  felicity,  as  they  advance 


IJIJSC.  1.  CHRISTIAN  KNOWLEDGE.  27 

in  knowledge  ;  where  "  the  p\ue  in  heart  shall  see 
God ;"  where  nothing  shall  eclipse  the  Ml  vision  of 
God  and  the  Lamb ;  and  where  we  shall  be  like  him. 
for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is.     I  remark, 

V.  The  importance  of  christian  knowledge  is  still 
Fmther  evinced  by  its  influence  in  extending 

THE  SPHERE  OF  CHRISTIAN  USEFULNESS. 

The  highest  wish  of  a  good  man  is  to  be  conformed 
lo  the  image  of  God,  and  to  become  the  instrument  of 
good  to  the  world.  In  our  inquiries  after  the  truth 
of  God,  we  have  little  to  do  with  what  is  merely  curious. 
There  is  no  trath  in  the  Bible,  which  when  clearly  un- 
derstood, does  not  have  a  favourable  effect,  not  only  upon 
our  internal  graces,  but  upon  all  benevolent  exertion. 
"  The  wisdom  of  the  prudent  is  to  understand  his  way." 
A.  well  informed  church,  a  well  informed  christian,  is  like 
a  city  set  on  a  hill.  There  is  a  "  throb  of  christian 
intelligence"  in  such  a  bosom,  which  is  likely  to  give 
impulse  and  influence  to  every  thing  he  devises.  Such 
a  man  possesses  a  weight  of  character  and  a  power  of 
moral  feeling,  which  exert  the  best  influence.  There 
is  an  "  inspiration  of  enlightened  affection"  within  him. 
that  rarely  fails  to  act  directly  upon  the  most  important 
concerns  of  men.  Such  a  man  is  always  ready  for 
action.  There  is  nothing  so  quiescent  in  his  nature, 
as  to  leave  him  in  perpetual  and  perplexing  vacillation 
between  conflicting  points  of  duty.  If  the  spirit  of  his 
Master  rests  upon  him  in  proportion  to  his  intellectual 
4 


2'S  THE  IMPORTANCE  OV  DISC.   I. 

attainments,  he  will  instruct  the  ignorant,  strengthen 
the  weak,  comfort  the  afflicted,  reclaim  the  wandering, 
and  often  become  the  instrument  of  converting  some 
sinner  from  the  error  of  his  ways,  or  of  arousing  luke- 
warm and  backsliding  christians  to  renovated  zeal  and 
activity.  If  enfeebled  churches  need  counsel,  if  bene- 
volent associations  solicit  direction,  if  duties  of  high  and 
weighty  responsibility  are  to  be  performed ;  these  are 
the  men  to  whom  the  church  and  the  world  look  for 
the  blended  influence  of  intelhgence  and  integrity. 
There  is  a  capriciousness  and  self-sufficiency  of  charac- 
ter which  often  attach  themselves  to  piety  of  an  unen- 
lightened sort,  and  which  however  it  may  "brave 
danger  and  support  toil,"  is  disqualified  for  energetic 
and  permanent  usefulness.  It  is  too  apt  to  leave  the 
beaten  track  and  to  be  carried  away  by  the  mere  no- 
velties of  benevolence,  and  the  pretensions  of  sect. 
That  exclusive  and  bigoted  spirit,  which  has  hindered 
the  church  of  God  so  long  from  co-operating  in  the 
advancement  of  his  kingdom,  has  no  surer  remedy 
than  an  enlarged  view  of  the  doctrines  of  th€  gospel. 
The  spirit  of  sectarianism  has  ever  been  fortified  by 
giving  a  disproportioned  magnitude,  not  so  much  to  the 
fundamental  principles  of  the  gospel,  as  to  a  few  points 
of  minor  importance.  Every  truth  in  the  Bible  has  its 
proper  use,  and  its  proper  connection  with  the  general 
system  to  which  it  belongs.  The  more  comprehensive 
knowledge  we  have  of  the  whole,  the  more  have  we  of 


DISC.  I.  CHRISTIAN  KNOWLEDGE.  2^) 

a  distinct  knowledge  of  every  one  of  its  parts,  and  its 
due  proportions.  And  who  does  not  see,  that  enlarged 
views  of  the  Redeemer's  truth,  grace,  kingdom,  and 
glory,  would  induce  men  more  often  to  compromise 
then-  smaller  difierences  and  to  "  meet  on  the  ground  of 
their  common  Christianity  ?"  Nor  is  this  at  all  incom- 
patible with  the  most  unyielding  opposition  to  error. 
Truth  has  its  surest  advocate  in  the  man  who  is  able 
to  "  give  a  reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in  him  with  meek- 
ness and  fear."  It  is  he  alone  that  can  discriminate 
between  "  the  precious  and  the  vile,"  or  that  can  safel}^ 
••  contend  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints."  If 
error  rush  in  like  a  flood,  who  shall  be  instrumental  in 
lifting  up  a  standard  against  it,  if  not  the  men  of  en- 
lightened piety  7  When  we  look  around  with  appre- 
hension on  the  invasions  of  heresy,  such  as  the  church 
has  seen,  and  will  see,  and  which  are  wisely  permitted, 
"  that  the  truth  may  be  made  manifest ;"  how  else  is 
she  to  be  conducted  through  the  labyrinth,  and  to  keep 
herself  from  being  bewildered,  darkened,  and  enervated; 
but  by  the  blessing  of  God  upon  her  augmented  know- 
ledge and  acquisition  of  the  truth  ? 

The  church  of  God  has  sustained  no  small  detriment 
from  the  ignorance  of  good  men.  How  few  compared 
with  the  mass  of  her  numbers,  will  be  found  to  be 
stable,  well  instructed  christians.  You  sec  men  of 
zeal,  but  it  is  not  a  zeal  that  is  according  to  knowledge. 
Thev  read  without   thinkinG".  nnd  lirnr  ^\'itlm1lf   m'er 


30  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  DISC.   1. 

being'  at  the  trouble  of  examining  whether  what  they 
hear  be  according  to  godhness.  Plausible  conjecture 
passes  with  them  for  sound  reasoning,  and  bold  asser- 
tion for  rigid  ar^mient.  And  hence,  their  creed  varies 
with  theii-  instructions  and  they  are  almost  sure  to  "  go 
along  with  the  last  preacher  they  hear,  and  the  last 
author  they  read."  It  is  impossible  for  persons  of  this 
description  to  attain  eminent  degrees  of  usefulness. 
••'  Men  do  not  gather  grapes  of  thorns,  nor  figs  of  this- 
tles." Ignorance,  especially  in  an  active  mind,  becomes 
almost  necessarily  the  source  of  error. 

That  there  are  those,  whose  usefulness  is  confined 
within  no  narrow  sphere,  who  are  not  distinguished 
tor  their  knowledge  of  divine  truth,  cannot  be  denied. 
The  small  and  scanty  stock  of  knowledge  they  possess 
is  improved  to  so  much  better  advantage  than  that  of 
others  who  have  more,  that  such  instances  are  not  true 
standards  of  its  intrinsic  importance.  It  is  very  possi- 
ble for  men  to  be  mere  theorists  ;  but  then  they  are  not 
christians.  Doctrinal  knowledge,  unassociated  with 
benevolence  and  activity,  is  by  far  a  more  useless  thing, 
than  benevolence  and  activity  shrouded  in  no  inconsi- 
derable ignorance.  But  this  is  no  evidence  that  the 
character  which  unites  knowledge  with  hohness  is  not 
the  character  that  is  truly  desirable,  and  that  the  men 
of  "  light  and  love"  are  not  they  that  adorn  the  doctrine 
of  God  our  Saviour,  and  )ecommend  relisrion  to  the 
world.     T  add. 


DISC.  I.  CHRISTIAN  KNOWLEDGE.  31 

VI.  There  is  a  single  consideration,  on  which  I 
would  dwell  more  largely,  if  I  were  not  afraid  of  being- 
misinterpreted  and  misunderstood.  The  peadiar  cha- 
racter of  the  age  iti  which  we  live  furnishes  a  poto- 
erful  reason  for  solicitude  in  relation  to  the  great 
doctrines  of  the  Bible. 

It  is  not  so  much  the  age  of  a  speculative  philosophy, 
that  the  friends  of  truth  have  any  thing  to  fear  on  that 
account.  It  is  not  the  "  unhinging  subtlety"  of  the 
enemies  of  the  cross,  that  threatens  a  removal  of  the 
ancient  landmarks,  were  it  not  for  the  negligence  and 
indifference  of  the  friends  of  truth  themselves.  But 
from  some  cause,  there  is  a  strange  apathy  to  the 
truth.  It  is  the  age  of  business,  and  not  of  investiga- 
tion. It  is  the  age  of  a  charity  so  liberal,  a  benevo- 
lence so  active,  an  excitement  so  febrile,  that  nothing 
seems  to  satisfy  good  men,  short  of  that  spirit  of  mutual 
concession,  which  savours  of  a  criminal  indifference  to 
all  religious  opinions.  Men,  from  whom  the  church  had 
hoped  better  things,  are  satisfied  with  very  easy  and 
hberal  views.  Thirty  years  ago,  the  church  of  God 
aimed  at  large  attainments  in  grace  and  knowledge  : 
and  in  too  great  a  degree,  to  the  unwarrantable  ex- 
clusion of  benevolent  action.  But  the  order  of  things 
is  now  changed,  and  at  the  expense  of  truth.  And 
yet,  who  would  not  tremble  to  say,  that  too  much  is 
either  done  or  attempted  for  the  conversion  of  the  world? 
When  we  look  abroad  upon  the  world,  we  see  that  fi 


32  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  DISC.   1. 

field  of  labour  is  opening  that  is  unspeakably  gratify- 
ing to  every  benevolent  mind,  and  such  a  field  as  the 
church  never  before  saw.  But  is  it  not  possible  that 
this  zeal  for  christian  enterprise  needs  the  baptism  of 
an  orthodox  spirit ;  and  unless  it  is  more  deeply  imbued 
\vith  it,  must  not  only  fail  of  accomplishing  what  it 
might  otherwise  accompUsh,  but  scatter  in  wide  pro- 
fusion, tares  among  the  wheat?  Combinations  of 
(ruth  and  error,  even  in  plans  of  benevolent  enterprise, 
are  of  very  doubtful  tendency.  Error  has  always  been 
willing  to  go  with  truth,  just  so  far  as  truth  will  go 
with  error ;  whereas  truth  ought  to  go  with  error  no 
farther  than  error  will  go  with  truth  ;  and  even  in  this 
apparently  safe  companionship,  truth  is  very  apt  to  be- 
come crippled  and  lame.  If  I  do  not  survey  the  signs 
of  the  times  through  a  deceptive  and  gloomy  medium, 
there  are  dangers  in  this  matter,  to  which  neither  the 
church,  nor  her  watchmen,  are  sufficiently  awake.  We 
should  not  be  surprised,  if  in  this  age  of  business  and 
ignorance,  action  and  concession,  it  should  be  found 
necessary,  before  the  expiration  of  many  years,  for 
another  Whitefield  or  Edwards  to  sound  the  note  of 
alarm  to  the  American  churches.  Nor  do  I  feel  at 
liberty  to  suppress  these  reflections  while  urging  the 
importance  of  attainment  in  christian  knowledge. 

Who  duly  appreciates  the  intrinsic  excellence  of 
truth?  Who  duly  estimates  the  place  it  holds  in 
the  purposes  of    divine   mercy  toward   this    apostatf; 


DISC.  1.  CHRISTIAN  KNOWLEDGE.  33 

world  ?  Who  that  would  live  not  to  huTiself,  but  to 
liim  that  died  for  him  and  rose  again  ;  would  not  gi'ow 
in  knowledge,  while  he  grows  in  grace  ?  God  grant 
that  your  self-devotement  to  his  cause,  and  your  active 
exertions,  and  your  sweetest  charities  may  abound  a 
thousandfold,  and  that  they  may  abound  more  and 
more  in  knowledge  and  in  all  judgment !  We  would 
not  exalt  one  part  of  the  religion  of  Jesus  at  the  ex- 
pense of  another  ;  but  would  combine  and  inweave  its 
intellectual,  cordial,  and  practical  excellencies,  that  "  in 
every  thing  you  may  be  enriched  by  him  in  all  utter- 
ance and  in  all  knowledge:"  so  that  you  may  "all 
come  in  the  unity  of  the  faith  and  of  the  knowledge 
of  the  Son  of  God,  unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the  mea- 
sure of  the  stature  of  the  fullness  of  Christ."  If  you 
would  be  happy  in  yourselves,  and  a  blessing  to  all 
about  you,  you  must  be  well  informed  and  growing 
christians ;  "  rooted  and  built  up  in  Christ,  and  estab- 
lished in  the  faith,  abounding  therein  with  thanks- 
giving." And  for  this  I  would  devoutly  pray — that 
'•  your  hearts  might  be  comforted,  being  knit  together 
in  love,  and  unto  all  riches  and  the  full  assurance  of 
understanding,  and  to  the  acknowledgment  of  the 
mystery  of  God,  and  of  the  Father,  and  of  Christ,  in 
whom  are  hid  all  the  treasures  of  wonder  and  know- 
ledge !" 

And  now  in  bringing  this  discussion  to  a  close,  allow 
me  to  remark. 


34  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  DISC.  I. 

1.  That  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  ought  not  to  be 
reproached  for  instructive  preaching.  This  is  the 
reproach  of  many  a  faithful  minister.  And  yet  in- 
structive preacliing  is  the  best  preaching.  No  man 
can  preacli  inteUigibly  and  profitably,  without  explain- 
ing and  proving  the  great  doctrines  of  the  gospel.  In 
the  ordinary  method  of  divine  grace,  there  is  no  other 
way  in  which  their  people  will  become  wise  unto  sal- 
vation. Would  a  preacher  honestly  say  to  those  who 
have  sat  under  his  ministrations,  "  I  have  kept  back 
nothing  that  was  profitable  to  you ;"  with  equal  ho- 
nesty, he  must  say,  "  I  have  not  shunned  to  declare  to 
you  all  the  counsel  of  God."  If  we  commend  our- 
selves to  every  man's  conscience  in  the  sight  of  God, 
it  is  not  by  walking  in  craftiness,  or  handling  the  word 
of  God  deceitfully,  but  by  manifestation  of  the  truth. 
Other  things  being  equal,  he  is  the  best,  the  most  pro- 
fitable, the  most  successful  preacher,  who  exhibits  the 
most  truth.  Instructive  preaching  may  oflfend,  because 
the  words  of  the  wise  are  as  goads.  But  do  we  now 
persuade  men,  or  God  ?  Or  do  we  seek  to  please  men  ? 
for  if  we  yet  pleased  men,  we  should  not  be  the  ser- 
vants of  Christ.  It  is  a  melancholy  fact,  that  ortho- 
doxy is  becoming  a  term  of  reproach ;  that  steadfast- 
ness in  the  faith  requires  unwonted  self-denial.  Un- 
bending adherence  to  doctrines  has  ah-eady  become  a 
Imrden,  well  nigh  too  oppressive  to  be  borne.  Doctrinal 
instruction  is  becoming  unpopular,  and  is  already  too 


DISC.    I.  CHRISTIAM    ivIMOVVLKDGE.  35 

cold  and  heartless  for  the  spirit  of  the  age.  And  yet. 
my  brethren,  none  of  these  things  should  move  us. 
Still  let  the  pulpit  teem  with  all  the  riches  and  variety 
of  revealed  truth.  Both  the  letter  and  the  spirit  of  our 
commission  requiie  us  to  "  go  and  teach  aU  nations." 
At  a  very  great  remove  from  the  preaching  which  our 
ascended  Lord  requires,  are  the  vapid  and  vapoury  ser- 
mons of  a  multitude  of  preachers.  Instead  of  truths, 
clearly  conceived  and  wisely  selected  from  the  vast  va- 
riety and  mighty  range  of  instruction,  spread  out  before 
them  in  the  scriptures,  their  discourses  are  made  up 
of  loose  and  crude  appeals  to  the  passions,  and  at  best 
of  the  fatiguing  repetition  of  a  few  common-place 
thoughts  upon  the  same  first  principles  of  divine  truth. 
After  all  that  is  said  against  doctrinal  preaching,  no 
man  can  be  a  weighty  and  powerful  preacher,  whose 
discomses  are  destitute  of  soUd  instruction. 

2.  We  may  see  why  it  is  that  the  scriptures  so  often 
represent  the  love  of  the  truths  as  a  conclusive  test 
of  christian  character. 

That  they  do  so,  is  perfectly  evident.  '•'  He  that  is 
spiiitual  judgeth  all  things,^'  '•  He  that  beheveth  on 
the  Son  of  God  hath  the  witness  in  himself."  "  Yv. 
have  an  unction  from  the  Holy  One,  and  ye  know  all 
things."  '•  Except  ye  believe  that  I  am  he,  ye  shall 
die  in  yom-  sins."  *'  For  this  cause,  God  shall  send 
them  strong  delusion,  that  they  should  believe  a  liC; 
that  they  all  might  be  damned,  who  beUeve  not  the 
truth,  but  have  pleasure  in  unrighteousness."    It  belong? 


3G 


THK    IMPORT Ai\CK  OF 


to  the  nature  of  piety  to  love  the  truth  of  God.  Im- 
piety may  make  shipwreck  of  the  faith.  The  eternal 
interests  of  men  are  suspended  upon  their  l)eheving 
and  loving  the  essential  doctrines  of  the  gospel.  Good 
men  do  not  see  any  way  of  becoming  pious  them- 
selves, but  by  believing  and  loving  the  truth  of  God ; 
and  they  see  no  way  by  which  others  can  become  so. 
We  shall  discover  our  true  character,  my  hearers,  in  no 
small  degree  by  our  opinions.  If  we  imbibe  error,  and 
especially,  if  it  be  serious,  fundamental  error,  it  will  bo 
because  we  have  not  sought  the  truth  in  the  love  of  it. 
and  have  chosen  darkness  rather  than  light.  How 
can  men  be  holy,  who  have  not  the  word  of  Christ 
abiding  in  them  ?  How  can  men  be  holy,  who  oppose 
the  truth  of  God,  when  the  exercise  of  a  holy  temper 
would  infallibly  lead  them  to  believe  and  love  it? 
How  far  men  may  go  in  rejecting  the  truth  of 
God  and  yet  be  good  men,  let  none  be  hasty  in  deter- 
mining. There  are  doctrines  that  are  fundamental  to 
the  gospel,  and  so  essential  to  it,  that  to  deny  them,  or 
any  one  of  them,  would  subvert  the  whole  gospel  itself. 
And  it  is  very  possible  for  men  to  be  ignorant  of  some 
of  these  doctrines  and  yet  be  saved.  They  may  not 
understand  them  ;  they  may  not  discern  their  connec- 
tion and  importance ;  and  their  ignorance  in  this  re- 
spect, and  their  misconceptions,  may  not  prove  them  to 
be  the  enemies  of  tmth  and  hohness.  But  while  this 
is  an  indulgence  which  christian  charity  asks  and  gives, 
lot  it  be  settled  in  our  minds,  that  no  man  can  under- 


DISC.  1.  CHRISTIAN  KNOWLEDGE.  Si 

Inland  any  one  of  the  fimdamental  triitlis  of  the  gospel 
and  reject  it,  and  at  the  same  time  be  the  friend  of  God. 
Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go,  but  unto  thee  ?  for  thou 
hast  the  ivords  of  eternal  life ;  and  we  know  and 
tire  sure,  that  thou  art  that  Christ,  the  Son  of  the 
living  God. 

But  we  add, 

3.  And  we  desire  to  add  with  emphasis,  Rest  not 
satisfied  with  mere  intellectual  attainments  in  reli- 
gioti.  Many  a  man,  we  fear,  does  rest  satisfied  with 
a  mere  speculative  knowledge  of  the  truth  of  God. 
Multitudes  under  the  light  of  the  gospel  have  been 
educated  in  the  belief,  that  religion  is  a  mere  science. 
They  have  been  taught  to  "  say  their  prayers ;"  to 
read  the  Bible ;  to  repeat  the  catechism  ;  to  attend  the 
worship  of  God  on  the  sabbath  ;  to  come  to  the  Lord's 
table  ;  and  here  their  religion  ends.  From  childhood 
to  youth,  and  from  youth  to  manhood,  they  grow  up 
under  the  influence  of  such  a  religion,  and  live  and 
die  in  all  the  usages  and  orthodoxy  of  their  fathers- 
and  mournful  to  relate,  live  and  die  the  enemies  of 
God.  They  have  never  been  made  acquainted  with 
the  plague  of  their  own  hearts  ;  they  have  never  come 
as  ruined  and  condemned  sinners  to  tlie  cross  of  Christ : 
and  they  have  no  more  knowledge  of  internal,  vital 
piety,  than  the  heathen.  Such  was  the  religion  of  the 
scribes  and  Pharisees.  Such  was  the  religion  of  Paul 
l)efore  his  conversion.     And  if  any  of  us  are  satisfied 


38  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  DISC  I. 

■with  such  a  rehgion,  dear  hearers,  unless  sovereign 
grace  interpose,  we  shall  most  certainly  die  in  our  sins, 
A  mere  intellectual  acquaintance  with  the  truth  of 
God  is  not  godliness.     "  Though  I   speak  with   the 
tongue  of  men  and  of  angels,  and  have  not  love^  I  am 
become  as  sounding  brass,  or  a  tinkling  cymbal.     And 
though  I  have  the  gift  of  prophecy,  and  understand  all 
mysteries  and  all  knowledge,  and  have  not  love.  I 
am  nothing."     There  is  many  a  well  informed  under- 
standing where  there  is  an  unhumbled  heart.  "  Thou 
believest   there   is   one  God :   thou  doest  weO.     The 
devils  also  believe  and  tremble."     Clear  and  strong 
perceptions  of  moral  truth  only  enhance  the  turpitude 
and  aggravate  the  guilt  of  wicked  men.     "He  that 
knoweth  his  Lord's  will,  and  doeth  it  not,  shall  be 
beaten  with  many  stripes."     You  may  see  and  approve 
the  better,  and   follow  the  worse,     "  They  know  too 
much  of  religion,  far  too  much,  for  their  future  comfort, 
who  know  more  than  they  obey."     The  truths  you 
understand   must  be  loved    and   obeyed.      However 
humbling,  they  must  be  loved  and  obeyed.     However 
particular  and  personal  in  their  application,  they  must 
be  loved  and  obeyed.     However  offensive  to  the  carnal 
mind,  they  must   be  loved  and  obeyed.     Yes,  they 
onust  be  loved  and  obeyed!     And  this  is  the  religion, 
my  respected  audience,  which  it  is  the  design  of  these 
lectures  to  urge  upon  you.     A  knowledge  that  puffetli 
up  and  does  not  edify  ;  a  knowledge  that  justifies  obdu 
lacy  and  impenitence,  and  does  not  excite  tenderness 


DISC.  I.  CHRISTIAN  KNOWLEDGE.  39 

and  susceptibility,  would  only  become  a  savour  of  death 
unto  death.  While  we  therefore  respectfully  solicit 
your  attention  to  some  of  the  more  important  doctrines 
of  the  gospel,  in  the  name  and  by  the  authority  of  the 
God  of  truth  and  hoUness,  we  claim  for  him  and  his 
truth  the  submission  of  your  hearts.  As  ambassadors 
of  Christ,  as  though  God  did  beseech  you  by  us,  we 
pray  you  in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God. 
They  are  no  obscure  and  deep  points  of  speculation,  that 
are  about  to  be  presented  to  you.  Few,  very  few  such 
points  are  to  be  found  in  the  Bible.  They  are  plain, 
solemn,  interesting  truths,  which  we  hope  may  not 
only  enlighten  your  minds  arid  our  own,  but  find  a 
passage  to  our  hearts.  And  God  of  his  infinite  mercy 
grant,  that  they  may  be  so  preached  and  so  accompa- 
nied by  his  omnipotent  Spirit,  that  we  who  preach  may 
be  helpers  of  one  another's  joy,  and  you  who  hear  may 
be  our  crown  of  rejoicing  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesup. 
Amen. 


DISCOURSE    II. 


THE  LAW  OF  GOD. 


IloM.  vii.  12.—"  Wherefore  the  law  is  holy,  and  the  cominandiuent  holy,  and 
just,  and  good." 


The  seventh  chapter  of  Romans  is  a  compendium 
of  experimental  theology.  It  is  a  proper  standard  of 
that  kind  of  religious  experience  which  alone  is  enlight- 
ened, genuine,  and  everlasting.  It  remains  an  inspired 
protest  against  extravagance,  airy  conceits,  presumptu- 
ous hopes,  lawless  fervours,  spurious  joys,  unholy  satis- 
factions, and  heartless  forms  in  religion.  Against 
ignorance,  presumption,  pretension  with  no  experience, 
and  affections  not  "  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit,"  its  total  tes- 
timony is  hfted  ;  and  those  only,  whose  piety  is  acquit- 
ted by  this  criterion,  "  shall  be  able  to  stand"  the  fiery 
ordeal  of  eternity.  The  exercises  it  describes  are  cer- 
tainly gracious  :  but  they  are  initial,  and  respect  mainly 
6 


42  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  DISC.  TI. 

the  discoveries,  feelings,  and  desires,  of  a  soul  in  the 
process  of  introduction  to  the  spiritualities  of  religion  ; 
commencing  with  his  pre\dous  state,  advancing  with 
his  progress,  and  rejoicing  in  his  consummated  attach- 
ment to  the  Redeemer.  That  soul  is  doubtless  the 
Apostle  himself.  Paul  is  not  more  the  historian,  than 
the  theme,  of  the  lucid  narrative.  The  experiences  of 
such  a  noble  of  the  christian  empire  may  well  be  given 
by  the  Great  King  of  Saints,  for  the  direction  and  the 
assurance  of  his  inferior  subjects. 

In  this  narration  it  is  remarkable  how  much  is  said 
of  the  law  of  God.  Its  use  and  ministry  are  indicated, 
its  connection  with  the  gospel  seen,  and  its  distinctness 
fully  manifested.  The  law  of  God  is  evidently  the 
foimdation  of  all  the  experiences  recorded  in  this  won- 
derful chapter :  and  since  the  nature  of  mind,  of  de- 
pravity, and  of  religion,  remains  the  same  in  all  ages, 
we  may  safely  extend  the  proposition — it  is  the  basis  of 
all  genuine  religion. 

With  such  views  of  the  law  of  God,  it  is  not  won- 
derful, my  brethren,  that  we  have  given  it  an  early 
place  in  these  lectures ;  since  this  may  l)e  fairly  deno- 
minated a  criterion-subject,  influencing  essentially  the 
total  system  of  our  religious  belief  I  solicit  your  can- 
did and  patient  attention  then  to  the  following  ques- 
tions : 

What  is  the  laio  of  God  7 

What  right  has  God  to  impose  his  law  iqmfi  tis  ? 


DISC.   II.  THE  LAW  OP  GOD.  43 

Why  did  he  iinpose  such  a  law '} 
What  concern  have  ice  wilh  his  law,  since  to  be 
saved  by  it  is  impossible  ? 

What  are  the  attributes  of  excellence  that  com- 
mend the  law  of  God  to  the  apj)robation  and  affec- 
tion of  all  his  moral  subjects  ? 

After  answering  these  questions,  respecting  the  na- 
ture and  relations  of  the  law  of  God,  we  shall  men- 
tion some  lessons  of  wisdom  thence  deducible — some, 
instead  of  many,  thence  resulting. 

I.  What  is  the  law  of  God? 

A  law,  in  its  most  general  sense,  is  a  rule  of  action. 
Its  object  is  to  regulate  personal  conduct.  The  laws  of 
nature  and  of  matter,  in  all  their  various  forms,  are  but 
the  code  of  order  which  Jehovah  hath  legislated  for 
himself,  and  of  which  he  is  at  once  the  maker  and  the 
subject,  the  enactor  and  the  executive,  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  infinite  providence.  To  speak  of  these  laws 
as  if  they  were  their  own  authors,  or  as  if  they  were 
themselves  conscious  agents,  or  as  if  they  were  sove- 
reign efficients  in  the  system  of  things,  Uke  the  kindied 
anomaly  that  deifies  nature,  involves  such  dark  absm- 
dity,  to  say  nothing  of  its  atheism,  as  would  disgrace 
the  mind  of  a  sensible  pagan.  What  then  are  we  to 
think  of  nominal  christians  who  habituate  the  phrase- 
ology 1  Certainly  that  they  are  "  wilfully  ignorant"  of 
that  glorious  Intelligence 

who,  retired 
Behind  his  own  creation,  works  unseen 
By  the  impure,  and  hears  his  power  denied. 


44  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  DISC.  II. 

But  we  are  treating  now  of  the  moral  universe ;  the 
illimitable  empire  of  mind ;  the  circle  of  wonders  and 
of  glories  within  which  expatiate  the  numerous  orders 
of  accountable  and  immortal  creatures.  Matter  was 
made  for  mind ;  and  the  laws  of  the  former  are  all 
subservient  to  the  interests  of  the  intellectual  depart- 
ment of  existence.  The  one  is  transient  and  tribu- 
tary ;  the  other  permanent  and  ultimate.  The  mate- 
rial universe,  with  all  its  gorgeous  scenery  and  astound- 
ing complications  of  mechanism,  Is  inferior— infinitely 
inferior  to  those  eternal  agents,  and  qualities,  and  rela- 
tions, for  which  it  was  made  and  to  which  it  ministers  ; 
while  it  may  be  regarded  as  the  mere  staging  on  which 
the  mighty  drama  is  displayed.  How  important  and 
how  grand  is  theological  science  ! 

The  law  of  God  may  be  defined — that  eternal  rule 
which  he  has  prescribed  for  the  goveriwient  of 
minds;  commanding  what  is  rights  prohibiting 
what  is  wrong,  and  loith  appropriate  sanctions  sup- 
porting the  universal  interests  of  order,  holiness, 
and  happiness.  It  has  a  precept  and  a  penalty ;  an 
object  and  a  perfect  adaptation  to  its  end.  It  includes 
all  angels,  all  devils,  and  all  men,  in  its  perfect  juris- 
diction. Penalty  is  essential  to  its  being,  as  law  ;  with- 
out which  indeed  it  might  embody  much  good  counsel, 
advice,  and  even  entreaty  ;  it  might  advertise  possibly 
the  amiable  weakness  and  the  pitiable  confusion  of  the 
Lawgiver ;  but  his  authority,  his  majesty,  his  inde- 
pendence, and  his  glory,  it  never  could  achieve.     In 


DISC.  II.  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  45 

short,  it  could  be  no  law,  without  an  adequate  penalty, 
determinately  made,  fully  propounded,  and  forever  sus- 
tained. That  penalty  is  specifically  given  in  the  scrij> 
tures.  It  is  there  called  "  death  ;"  and  this — though 
not  alone — is  perhaps  its  most  frequent  appellation. 
Natural  death,  as  we  commonly  speak,  though  one  of 
the  consec[uences  of  sin  in  this  mixed  probationary 
system,  is — we  are  prepared  to  prove — no  part  of  the 
proper  penalty  of  the  law.  It  is  none :  unless  every 
other  misery,  such  for  example  as  the  curse  of  toil ;  the 
pains  and  subjected  condition  of  "  the  suflering  sex ;" 
the  thorns,  thistles,  and  noxious  herbage  with  which 
the  earth  is  overgrown ;  and  the  hostile  revolt  of  all 
the  irrational  tribes  against  the  lordship  and  the  felicity 
of  man — unless  all  these,  with  every  pang  we  feel  and 
every  tear  we  shed,  are  proper  original  constituents  of 
penalty.  That  all  misery  is  a  monster  in  the  dominions 
of  God,  and  that  sin  has  in  some  way  introduced  it  all, 
are  true  and  safe  positions.  But  it  is  quite  another 
matter  to  aver  that  all  the  "  variety  of  wretchedness" 
we  suffer  is  but  the  formal  developement  of  penalty 
strictly  legal.  We  are  not  now  speaking  of  the  gospel ; 
of  the  system  of  grace ;  of  mediatorial  constitution  and 
government ;  and  of  evils  that  exist  generally  in  those 
abodes  of  mortality  to  which  we  appertain  :  but  of  the 
law  of  God,  which,  however  connected  with  our  present 
condition,  has  a  nature  and  a  character  of  its  own,  and 
must  be  viewed  as  it  is  in  order  to  understand  its  influ- 
ence upon  other  things  that  are. 


46  THE  LAW  OP  GOD.  DISC.  II. 

Death  is  tlie  image  of  accomplished  ruin,  of  desola- 
tion and  despair.  One  sin  entails  this  penalty  on  every 
offender.  It  is  the  curse  of  God.  It  is  seen  in  what  is 
certainly  revealed  of  primitive  transgressors,  the  origi- 
nal seniors  of  disobedience,  "  God  spared  not  the  angels 
that  sinned,  but  cast  them  down  to  hell."  It  is  called 
"everlasting  punishment" — and  "everlasting  fire" 
which  was  "  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels." 

It  is  legal  or  judicial  death ;  and  unless,  in  human 
instances,  its  sentence  is  repealed  through  the  media- 
torial economy,  it  is  finally  executed  on  all  the  impeni- 
tent, who  "  depart"  from  Christ,  accursed,  into  the  eter- 
nal misery  which  angel  apostates  first  incurred.  Much 
darkness  hath  been  induced  from  literalizing  the  word 
"  death."  In  the  original  threatening  to  the  progenitors 
of  mankind,  it  is  not  literal  but  judicial  death  that  is 
respected.  The  same  is  demonstraljly  true  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans  throughout.  Thus,  when  it  is 
said,  "  death  reigned  from  Adam  to  Moses — many  be 
dead — sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin, 
and  so  death  passed  upon  all  men,  for  that  all  have  sin- 
ned— the  wages  of  sin  is  death — if  ye  live  after  the 
flesh,  ye  shall  die — to  be  carnally  minded  is  death," 
and  so  onward,  Uteral  death  is  not  meant ;  neither  spi- 
ritual death,  which  is  but  a  figurative  phrase  for  total 
sinfulness ;  but  judicial  death,  or  death  in  the  eye  of 
law,  condemnation,  ill-desert,  exposure  to  wrath.  Judi- 
cial death  becomes  by  protraction  eternal  death ;  and 
this  in  every  instance  known  to  us,  except  where  the 


DISC.  II.  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  47 

grace  of  the  gospel  is  secured  to  christians.  "  For  as 
many  as  are  of  the  works  of  the  law  are  under  the 
curse — that  no  man  is  justified  by  the  law  in  the  sight 
of  God,  it  is  evident — being  justified  freely,  by  his 
grace,  through  the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus — 
therefore  it  is  of  faith,  that  it  might  be  by  grace ;  to  the 
end  the  promise  might  be  sure  to  all  the  seed — he  that 
despised  Moses'  law  died  without  mercy  under  two  or 
three  witnesses — how  shall  we  escape  if  we  neglect  so 
great  salvation — every  transgression  and  disobedience 
received  a  just  recompense  of  reward." 

But  if  the  law  is  thus  armed  with  a  fearful  penalty, 
adequate  to  the  interests  it  guards,  the  wrong  it  avenges, 
and  the  good  it  intends,  so  has  it  primarily  a  most  excel- 
lent precept.  Without  this  also  it  could  not  be  law ; 
though  it  might  be  cruelty,  caprice,  and  the  purest  folly 
imaginable.  It  requires  love ;  supreme  to  God,  equal 
and  impartial  to  our  fellows,  perfect  in  degree,  holy  in 
nature,  and  perpetual  in  exercise. 

The  law  is  substantially  and  unchangeably  what  it 
has  now  been  described.  Toward  us  however  its  forms 
vary.  The  whole  written  word  of  God  is  often  deno- 
minated his  law.  "  The  law  of  the  Lord  is  perfect, 
converting  the  soul.  Open  thou  mine  eyes,  that  I  may 
behold  wondrous  things  out  of  thy  law.  O  how  love 
I  thy  law  !  it  is  my  meditation  all  the  day.  They  that 
forsake  the  law  praise  the  wicked ;  but  such  as  keep 
the  law  contend  with  them."  The  law  is  often  iden- 
tified with  the  decalogue  or  ten  commandments.     Its 


48  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  DISC.  IT. 

whole  substance  has  been  condensed  still  more  by  the 
Saviour,  wlio  comprizes  the  whole  in  two  great  precepts, 
on  which,  he  declares,  "  hang  all  the  law  and  the  pro- 
phets." The  apostle  tells  us  that  it  "  is  spiritual ;"  in 
which  he  seems  to  condense  it  to  its  utmost,  as  it  were  a 
flame  of  ethereal  purity,  radiating  from  the  throne  of 
God,  and  exacting  a  corresponding  purity  and  perfec- 
tion of  all  the  moral  offspring  of  the  Lord  God  Al- 
mighty. 

What  a  jurisdiction  is  this  !  the  only  perfect  one  in 
existence.  Other  laws  regulate  appearances,  manners, 
and  the  exterior  alone ;  this  affects  the  soul,  inspires 
sincerity,  proscribes  "  the  thought  of  foolishness,"  and 
enjoins  a  spotless  and  durable  obedience.  It  subjects 
absolutely  every  mind,  holy  or  unholy,  in  the  moral  do- 
minions of  God,  to  its  authority,  if  not  to  its  obedience. 
Hence  it  occurs  to  consider  the  question, 

II.  What  right  has  God  to  impose  his  law 

UPON  us  ? 

This  question  is  often  asked,  and  very  often  enter- 
tained in  thought.  It  admits  the  fact  that  God  hath 
done  it ;  and  seems  further  to  admit  also  that  he  had  a 
right  to  do  it.  But  wherein  does  that  right  consist,  on 
what  is  it  founded,  and  can  it  be  vindicated  ?  The  spi- 
rits of  piety,  who  know  God,  have  a  way  of  resolving 
all  such  questions.  They  argue  with  ease,  and  often 
with  infallil)ility,  from  the  perfections  of  Jehovah. 
"  Just  and  true  are  thy  ways,  thou  King  of  Saints. 
Who  shall  not  fear  thee,  O  Lord,  and  glorify  thy  name? 


DISC.  II.  THE  LAW  OP  GOD.  49 

for  thou  only  art  holy."  This  position  is  not  more 
comprehensive  than  safe.  It  may  be  trusted  forever 
and  applied  universally.  It  is  as  certain  as  the  infinite 
excellency  of  God ;  from  which  it  is  a  plain  and  philo- 
sophical deduction.  Still,  in  the  present  instance,  it  is 
not  sufficiently  specific.  It  does  not 'assign  the  particu- 
lar star,  in  the  glorious  constellation,  upon  which  de- 
pends the  identical  right  of  the  Lawgiver,  to  throw  his 
perfect  jurisdiction  over  all  minds,  holy  or  unholy,  will- 
ing or  unwilling,  and  put  them  all  under  a  positive  re- 
sponsibility which  they  can  neither  modify  nor  avoid. 

Besides,  the  perfections  of  God,  though  they  consti- 
tute a  perfect  demonstration  that  whatever  he  does  is 
right,  are,  we  affirm,  no  foundation  of  his  right  of 
legislation.  We  rejoice  to  know  of  one  king,  to  whose 
administration  it  is  no  vainglorious  comphment,  but  a 
maxim  of  simple  verity,  to  say  that  the  King  can  do 
no  wrong.  But  does  this  truth  constitute  his  title  to 
reign  %  How  is  it  in  political  society  ?  May  a  citizen 
dictate  laws  to  the  commonwealth,  merely  because  he 
may  be  a  competent  jurist,  a  deserving  and  benevolent 
character?  Not  at  all.  He  must  be  legitimately 
installed.  A  relation,  involving  his  right  to  legislate, 
must  first  be  constituted ;  and  from  that  relation  flows 
the  prerogative.  Many  an  incompetent  man  sustains 
the  relation ;  many  a  worthless  incumbent  occupies  a 
seat  of  high  constitutional  authority ;  and  many  a 
worthy  and  quaUfied  individual,  as  all  the  world  knows, 
is  condemned  to  a  private  and  powerless  station,  because 
7 


50  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  DISC.  IT, 

the  wortliless,  the  ambitious,  the  disqiiahfied,  can  better 
clamber  into  place  than  he  and  aie  preferred  by  the  doat- 
ing  multitude.  It  is  not  then  the  wisdom,  the  good- 
ness, or  in  any  way  the  infinite  perfection  of  God,  that 
foimds  his  right  as  moral  governor :  not  any  or  all  of 
liis  essential  attributes,  not  his  glorious  and  perfect  na- 
ture; but  the  relations  he  sustains  to  his  own  moral 
creatures.  He  is  their  Maker,  Owner,  Ruler,  Judge, 
and  King ;  and  by  necessaiy  and  indestructible  right, 
founded  in  these  relations  to  his  own,  he  may  come,  as 
he  does,  to  each  of  them,  Avith  language  as  imperative 
as  this :  "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord,  thy  God,  with  all 
thy  powers  ;  Thou  shalt  love  thy  fellow  as  thyself;  and 
this,  all  this,  perfectly  and  perpetually,  on  pain  of  my 
judicial  and  visited  displeasure."  This  is  what  he  does, 
and  has  a  right  to  do.  Thus,  in  the  preface  to  the  de- 
calogue, he  first  installs  himself  in  the  legislative  rela- 
tion ;  saying,  "  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  who  have 
brought  thee  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  out  of  the  house 
of  bondage  :"  then  his  mandates  are  uttered,  and  Israel 
acknowledges  the  Sovereign  of  worlds ;  saying,  "  Thou 
shalt  have  no  other  Gods  before  me ;"  and  so  of  the 
others.  But  for  this  relation,  he  could  have  no  right  to 
impose  even  the  ten  commandments,  or  any  one  of 
them,  notwithstanding  their  intrinsic  excellency.  Other- 
wise, a  mere  mortal,  as  Moses,  might  impose  such  laws, 
if  he  could  make  them  ;  and  then  they  would  possess 
a  kind  of  authority  too  refined,  impalpable,  and  base- 
less, to  compel  the  assent  or  convince  the  understand- 


DISC.  II.  THE  LAW  OP  GOD.  .51 

ing  of  man  or  angel.  In  this  case,  they  would  lose  theii 
appropriate  character.  They  would  cease  to  be  law  ; 
though  they  might  pass  for  excellent  suggestions, 
friendly  hints,  fine  maxims,  and  rules  of  pure  or  possi- 
ble expediency.  Such  a  debilitated  code,  such  sanction- 
less  and  contemptible  statutes,  mandatory  in  form  but 
merely  suasory  in  fact,  would  operate  only  as  a  solvent 
to  virtue,  a  premium  to  vice,  and  a  facility  to  hcentious- 
ness.  But  who  is  God?  and  who  are  his  creatures'? 
Are  not  we  dependent  on  him,  absolutely,  perpetually, 
universally  ?  Dependent  for  existence,  for  all  our  pro- 
per attributes,  for  prosperity  and  happiness  ?  This  ac- 
cords with  the  moral  sense  of  angels  and  the  common 
sense  of  men.  Let  us  illustrate  it.  Suppose  the  rela- 
tions not  to  exist ;  and  then  God  comes  to  us  with  his 
law :  we  reply,  "  the  very  challenge  of  obedience  is  ini- 
quitous ;  the  very  attempt  to  impose  any  law  on  us, 
without  our  consent  by  voluntary  compact  plighted,  is 
oppressive ;  we  are  not  thy  creatures  or  thy  property,  O 
God ;  and  though  it  is  lawful  for  any  one  to  do  what  he 
will  with  his  own,  yet  we  are  our  own,  not  thine ;  as  a 
Being  thou  art  older,  mightier,  wiser  than  we  are ;  but 
this  is  no  warrant  of  usurpation  on  thy  part  or  plea  for 
servility  on  ours.  Might  and  right  are  different  things, 
and  though  we  should  succumb  to  superior  force  we 
never  will  consent  to  tyrannous  aggression." 

But  the  relations  do  exist ;  and  hence  how  deeply 
and  immoveably  are  founded  the  right  of  the  Lawgiver 
and  the  duty  of  the  subject !     Every  mortal  feels  the 


52  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  DISC.  II. 

practical  influence,  in  proportion  as  he  apprehends  the 
premises.  Let  us  consider  our  dependence,  and  God's 
relations  ;  let  us  fully  admit  that  we  are  created,  appro- 
priated, and  subordinate ;  and  then  question,  if  honestly 
we  can,  the  right  of  "  the  blessed  and  only  Potentate, 
the  King  of  Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords,"  to  be  our  Le- 
gislator forever.  The  enemies  of  God  always  avoid 
the  premises,  just  because  they  can  in  no  other  way 
avoid  the  conclusion.  It  may  be  safely  asserted  that  a 
rational  and  moral  being,  such  as  man,  in  proportion  as 
he  fuUy  discerns  in  their  proper  evidence  the  existence 
and  relations  of  his  Maker,  is  mentally  and  morally  ne- 
cessitated to  apprehend  also  the  right  of  Jehovah  to 
legislate  and  by  consequence  liis  own  absolute  obliga- 
tion to  obey. 

But,  it  will  be  asked,  may  not  this  right  be  abused, 
exercised  improperly,  and  vitiated  by  iniquity  ?  Cer- 
tainly it  may.  Whether  it  will  or  not  depends  on  the 
character  of  the  Lawgiver.  lUiat  one  possessed  of 
power  may  administer  it  amiss,  may  make  unequal, 
inapposite,  or  injmious  laws,  is  just  as  evident  as  that 
one,  without  the  power,  might  make  good  laws,  but 
could  not  impose  them  or  constitute  them  laws  at  all. 
Whether  God  ever  does  abuse  his  power  as  a  Lawgiver, 
has  indeed  been  made  a  question :  and  the  answers  have 
not  only  been  various,  but  they  have  divided  the  moral 
universe.  One  immense  party,  the  incomparable  and 
eternal  majority  of  creatures,  have  held  the  negative ; 
luive  sincerely  maintained  the  competency  of  God ;  and 


THE  LAW  OF  GOD. 


53 


even  asserted  his  glory  and  perfections.  The  other 
party — for  there  are  but  two — liave  liroached  the  proud 
affirmative ;  have  oppugned  the  rectitude  of  the  laws 
and  his  who  made  them  ;  have  pretended  virtue  in  re- 
belhon ;  have  vaunted  their  own  skill,  goodness,  and 
desert,  as  superior  to  his ;  have  revolted,  murmured, 
hated,  and  blasphemed ;  and  many  have  become  impla- 
cably hostile,  mahgnant,  and  even  eternal,  in  tjieir  deep 
incurable  aversion. 

But  what  is  the  truth  ?  "  Is  the  law  sin  ?"  We 
may  discover  in  the  sequel.     It  now  occurs  to  consider, 

III.  Why  did  God  impose  such  a  law? 

This  question  is  capable  of  great  perversion ;  since 
it  is  often  asked  in  a  manner  vain  and  vague,  as  if  to 
solve  doubts  that  have  no  existence  or  to  remove  difficul- 
ties that  are  only  verbal  or  imaginary.  In  this  style  it 
might  be  asked  always,  no  matter  what  the  name  or 
nature  of  the  law ;  and  then  it  belongs  to  the  class  ol 
"  foohsh  or  unlearned  questions,"  which  an  Apostle  has 
ordered  us  to  "  avoid,"  and  which  unhappily,  consti- 
tute in  some  chcles  the  current  wisdom,  the  circulating 
medium,  of  misguided  and  truthless  speculation. 
Alas  !  that  such  mortals  should  be  immortal,  such  rea- 
soners  accountable,  such  philosophers  obnoxious  to 
damnation  ;  and  yet  voluntarily  blinded  to  the  infinite 
glories  of  truth  and  righteousness  ! 

But  with  us  the  question  is  serious.  Its. answer  is  in 
order  to  piety.  The  more  we  understand  of  the  ways 
of  God,  the  better  can  we  worship  and  the  more  enjoy. 


54  THE  LAW  OF  GOP.  DISC.  II, 

He  also  challenges  our  inspection.  "  O  house  of  Israel, 
are  not  my  ways  equal?  The  King's  strength  also 
loveth  judgment.  The  works  of  the  Lord  are  great, 
sought  out  of  all  them  that  have  pleasure  therein.  His 
work  is  honourable  and  glorious  ;  and  his  righteousness 
endureth  forever.  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  begin- 
ning of  wisdom  ;  a  good  understanding  have  all  they 
that  do  his  commandments :  his  praise  endureth  for- 
ever. I  call  you  not  servants ;  for  the  servant  knoweth 
not  what  his  Lord  doeth :  but  I  have  called  you  friends ; 
for  all  things  that  I  have  heard  of  my  Father,  I  have 
made  known  unto  you."  Our  object  is  to  show  the 
principles  of  divine  legislation ;  to  prove  their  excel- 
lence ;  and  thence  to  infer  the  excellency  of  his  law. 

Are  the  relations  of  right  and  wrong  founded  in  the 
nature  of  things?  Is  there  any  thing  properly  arbi- 
trary in  the  enactments  of  God  ?  Is  any  thing  right 
because  he  commands  it  ?  or  does  he  command  it  be- 
cause it  is  right  ?  What  relation  has  his  law  to  happi- 
ness, to  order,  to  reason,  to  nature,  to  evidence  ?  Does 
he  care  for  utility  ?  •  Does  he  pursue  certain  ends,  and 
good  ones,  in  all  his  legislation  ?  Has  he  given  us  such 
a  law,  in  its  spirit  and  modifications,  because  his  wis- 
dom and  goodness  approved  it  as  perfect?  To  all 
these  questions,  we  reply,  There  is  nothing  capricious, 
passionate,  tyrannical,  or  erring,  in  our  Lawgiver.  He 
is  the  profoundest  Student,  I  should  say  Master,  of  uti- 
lity, in  the  universe.  To  him  it  appertains  to  judge,  as 
the  infinite  Guardian  of  his  own  dominions,  what  is 


DISC.  IT,  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  Ot) 

best.  He  is  the  glorious  Conservator  of  happiness  in 
the  moral  system.  To  him  it  seemed  necessary  to 
make  such  a  law  and  to  maintain  its  inviolability.  And 
why  may  not  he  do  what  seems  good  in  his  sight,  since 
he  alone  of  beings  sees  things  all  just  as  they  are,  since 
to  him  appearances  and  realities  are  the  same  and  no- 
thing appears  good  but  what  is  good  ?  The  nature  of 
things  he  has  indeed  constituted ;  but  the  criterion  of 
that  nature  existed  eternally  in  himself  and  is  the  con- 
genial offspring  of  his  own  glorious  perfections :  so  that 
right  and  wrong,  as  relations,  are  ultimately  resolvable 
into  his  own  eternal  attributes,  as  like  or  unlike  them. 
Whatever  tends  to  happiness  is  right ;  whatever  tends 
to  misery  is  wrong.  Here  is  the  foundation  of  his  law. 
We  may  speak  of  his  statutes  as  moral  and  positive ; 
and  in  form  or  circumstance  they  may  vary  so  as  to 
warrant  the  classification.  But  their  nature,  whether 
resulting  from  the  nature  of  things,  or  the  relations  of 
things,  whether  general  or  particular,  whether  tempo- 
rary or  permanent,  whether  mysterious  or  manifest, 
their  nature  is  one  and  the  same,  is  excellent  alone,  is 
worthy  of  the  incomparable  excellence  of  God.  .He 
has  made  us  capable  of  discerning,  as  he  discerns,  the 
immutable  moral  difference  of  right  and  wrong,  of 
happiness  and  misery;  only  that  his  discernment  is 
perfect,  universal,  and  never  impeded  or  confused.  His 
discernment  is  eternal  intuition,  the  discernment  of 
Omniscience.  But  we  discern  elementarily  and  in 
principle  the  very  same  opposition  of  qualities.     To 


56  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  DIS.  If. 

murder,  torture,  and  calumniate  another,  is  wrong  be- 
cause it  is  contrary  to  law :  but  the  law  has  forbidden 
it  because  it  tends  to  misery,  and  because  no  man  would 
think  it  right  for  him  to  receive  such  treatment  just  as 
it  suited  the  mood  of  his  fellow  to  dispense  it.  But  laws 
must  be  impartial.  They  must  act  reciprocally  between 
equals,  and  warrant  or  proscribe  to  each  that  course  of 
conduct  which  himself  would  warrant  or  proscribe  to  an- 
other. Hence,  there  is  a  sense  in  which  every  man  prac- 
tically approves  the  law  of  God :  he  judges  others  in  light 
of  its  equal  principles,  and  accuses  or  acquits  them  just  as 
they  are  or  are  not  seen  to  do  to  others  what  they  would 
that  others  should  do  to  them.  Here  is  a  moral  dilem- 
ma out  of  which  for  the  sinner  to  extricate  himself,  if 
he  can.  God  has  so  organized  his  mind  that,  unless 
blinded  by  ignorance  of  facts  or  selfishness  of  princi- 
ples, he  always  applies  the  same  criterion  of  right  which 
God  himself  applies.  "  Out  of  his  own  mouth"  will 
God  condemn  him.  Were  it  not  for  the  spirit  of  per- 
versity, the  moral  homage  of  every  human  being  would 
be  directly  and  ingenuously  rendered  to  the  law  of 
Go4-  "  They  are  a  law  unto  themselves  ;"  and  must 
get  rid  of  their  moral  nature,  before  they  can  escape  their 
moral  responsibility.  The  wicked  themselves  are 
sometimes  acute  and  accurate  casuists.  They  know 
very  well  what  a  christian  ought  to  be  and  how  he 
ought  to  act.  They  believe  in  the  existence  of  moral 
evil,  in  its  odious  nature  and  desert  of  punishment, 
when  they  are  the  objects  of  it ;  and  it  is  only  when 


DISC.  II.  THE  LAW  OP  OOD.  57 

they  are  the  subjects  of  it,  that  their  doubts,  and  diffi- 
culties, and  palliatives  begin.  They  acknowledge 
goodness,  when  they  are  made  the  objects  of  it,  in  cer- 
tain affecting  cases,  where  selfishness  has  no  bribe  or 
place  to  operate  ;  and  it  is  only  when  their  own  obliga- 
tions to  goodness  are  pressed,  that  their  cavils  and  ex- 
cuses occur  to  them.  Now,  of  all  these  facts  and  de- 
velopements,  millions  of  them  probably  in  the  case  of 
every  sinner,  will  the  cause  of  righteousness  be  availed 
in  the  day  of  judgment.  God  will  rescue  the  truth 
from  perversion  ;  arm  every  conscience  with  its  "  ght- 
termg  sword ;"  vindicate  himself  to  the  conviction  of 
the  universe ;  and  confound  all  hell  with  the  evidence 
of  his  rectitude.  Meanwhile,  the  inconceivably  vaster 
multitudes  above  will  be  ravished  with  the  spectacle. 
■'  And  it  shall  be  said  in  that  day,  Lo  this  is  our  God ; 
we  have  waited  for  him,  and  he  will  save  us  :  this  is  the 
Lord ;  we  have  waited  for  him,  we  will  be  glad  and 
rejoice  in  his  salvation.  O  Lord,  tliou  art  our  God ; 
we  will  exalt  thee,  we  will  praise  thy  name ;  for  thou 
hast  done  wonderful  things ;  thy  counsels  of  old  are 
faithfulness  and  truth.  Alleluia.  Salvation,  and 
glory,  and  honour,  and  power,  imto  the  Lord  our  God ; 
for  true  and  righteous  are  his  judgments.  And  again 
they  said.  Alleluia.  And  a  voice  came  out  from  the 
throne,  saying.  Praise  our  God,  all  ye  his  servants,  and 
ye  that  fear  him,  both  small  and  great.  And  I  heard 
as  it  were  the  voice  of  a  great  multitude,  and  as  the 
voice  of  many  waters,  and  as  the  voice  of  mighty  thun- 
8 


58  THE  LAW  OF  (tOD.  DISC.  II. 

deringSj  saying  Alleluia ;    for  the  Lord  Cuul  Omnipo- 
tent reigneth." 

I  proposed  to  answer  the  question. 

IV.     What  concern  have  we  with  the  law, 

SINCE  TO  BE  SAVED  BY  IT   IS   IMPOSSIBLE  .^ 

It  is  not  of  the  nature  of  law  to  show  mercy.  This 
pertains,  in  possible  or  provided  cases,  to  the  sovereignty 
of  the  Lawgiver.  A  law  that  provides  for  pardon,  pro- 
vides for  its  OAvn  prostration.  It  is  an  ill  instrument  of 
order,  a  worthless  guardian  of  right ;  in  short,  its  na- 
ture is  destroyed,  and  it  is  law  no  longer.  Hence,  law 
can  absolve  the  innocent  alon(3.  Towards  the  guilty, 
as  the  organ  of  pure  justice,  "  the  law  worketh  wrath" 
and  anticipates  nothing  but  executed  penalty.  It  does 
not  even  propose,  require,  or  recognise  atonement.  This 
belongs  to  the  supreme  arbitration  of  the  Lawgiver. 
Thus  God,  when  we  were  all  guilty,  forecasting  our 
salvation  by  means  that  should  leave  the  ermine  of  his 
righteousness  not  oidy  imstained  and  unsullied,  but 
even  brightened  in  its  purity  to  the  vision  of  his  sub- 
jects ;  God,  knowing  how  he  could  answer  and  even 
transcend  the  ends  of  punishment  in  a  way  of  atone- 
ment, accepted  the  costly  sacrifice  frum  his  own  self- 
immolated  Son,  that  he  might  magnify  his  inviolable 
justice  in  "  a  new  and  living  way" — that  he  "  might  be 
just  and  the  juslilicr  of  him  that  lu-licvcth  in  Jesus." 

But  was  it  any  part  of  (he  design  of  ihe  Savioiu's 
propitiatory  death  to  abolish  the  law  of  his  Father?  or 
1.0  impair  its  jurisdiction  '  or  to  put  the  attainder  of 


DISC.  ir.  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  59 

criie'l  on  its  terrific  sanctions  ?  Precisely  the  opposite 
of  this,  was  the  purpose  and  the  achievement  of  his  ex- 
piation. He  "  magnified  the  law  and  made  it  honour- 
able f  but  he  also  introduced  a  way  of  salvation,  that 
was  not  legal,  but  evangehcal,  gracious,  and  worthy  of 
eternal  praise.  When,  on  his  account,  we  are  released 
from  the  penalty,  we  are  not  absolved  from  the  precept, 
of  the  law.  He  has  not  purchased  indulgences  for  his 
people,  or  consecrated  transgression,  or  commanded 
hcentiousness.  Consequently,  we  are  eternally  obli- 
gated to  holiness.  The  gospel  is  so  constituted  that  its 
benefits  cannot  be  made  ours,  without  that  cordial  appro- 
bation of  the  law,  which  involves  essential  conformity 
to  its  spirit,  and  which  is  included  in  the  very  nature  of 
ol)edience  to  the  gospel.  Hence  our  moral  concern  with 
the  law  is  inalienable.  It  instructs  us  into  the  nature 
of  duty,  sin,  ill-desert,  spiritual  destitution,  our  need  of  a 
Saviour,  our  awful  liabilities,  and  the  absolute  necessity 
of  accepting  Christ  as  "the  end  of  the  law  for  righteous- 
ness to  every  one  that  believeth." 

It  appears  probable  to  me  that  eternal  life  never  could 
be  the  entailment  or  result  merely  of  law.  "  For  Mo- 
ses describeth  the  righteousness  which  is  of  the  law, 
that  the  man  who  doeth  these  things  shall  live  by 
them  ;"'  that  is,  as  long  as  he  docs  tiiem  he  si  i  all  live, 
he  shall  be  justified :  his  obedience  and  his  justification 
shall  parallel  each  other  as  far  as  the  former  extends. 
It  was  so  with  "  the  angels  that  kept  not  their  first 
estate.'^     For  a  season  they  i>erfectly  obeyed,  and  they 


60  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  DISC.  II 

lived  as  long.  But  was  this  conlirmation  ?  was  it  eter- 
nal life?  where  are  they  now?  God  has  probably 
given  a  probation  of  perfect  obedience  to  all  his  moral 
offspring;  and  if,  according  to  the  conditions  consti- 
tuted, their  obedience  endured  through  the  allotted  pe- 
riod, they  were  then  confirmed  in  holiness  and  happi- 
ness forever — and  this  is  life  eternal.  But  here  it  results 
from  covenant,  not  law.  It  was  not  indeed  the  covenant 
of  grace,  nor  the  probation  of  grace  ;  it  was  still  a  cove- 
nant, by  sovereign  goodness  vouchsafed,  and  appended 
to  law,  but  of  a  nature  all  its  own.  Law  is  one  thing ; 
covenant  is  another.  God  is  imder  no  obligations  to 
institute  a  covenant  with  one  of  liis  moral  creatures. 
To  withhold  it  originally  would  be  no  injury.  Tlius, 
should  he  create  a  moral  agent,  place  him  under  law, 
tell  him  that  his  justification  should  always  coincide 
with  his  obedience,  and  tell  him  no  more  ;  and  should 
such  a  subject  ol)ey  through  any  given  period,  and 
should  God  then  in  a  moment  abstract  his  being  with- 
out any  pain  inflicted  and  thus  annihilate  him  forever — 
where  would  be  the  injury  ?  Would  not  perfect  equity 
balance  the  accounts  of  Ijoth  parties  ?  I  think  it  would. 
True,  such  a  case  prolialaly  never  occurred  and  may 
never  occur.  It  is  however  not  the  less  proper  by  way 
of  illustration.  ^'- An  angel  from  heaven"  probably 
never  preached  the  gospel,  and  certainly  not  "  an  other 
gospel;"  yet  the  supposition  is  made  by  an  apostle 
to  illustrate  our  duty  in  other  cases.  Apart  from  what 
might  be  conjectiucd  as  to  the  consequences  if  our  first 


DISC.   TI.  THE  LAW  OP  GOD.  61 

parents  had  retained  tlieir  integrity  in  Eden  ;  and  apart 
from  the  nature  of  the  national  covenant  made  with  the 
Israehtes  at  Sinai,  concerning  which  opinions  vary,  1 
have  yet  to  learn  if  eternal  life  is  any  where  represented 
in  scripture  as  the  earnings  possibly  of  human  obe- 
dience. "  For  the  wages  of  sin  is  death  :  but  eternal 
life  is  the  gift  of  God,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 
For  if  there  had  been  a  law  given  which  could  have 
given  life,  verily  righteousness  should  have  been  by  the 
law.  But  the  scripture  hath  concluded  all  vmder  sin, 
that  the  promise  by  faitli  of  Jesus  Christ  might  Ije  given 
to  them  that  believe." 

The  law  however  has  its  important  uses.  One  of 
these,  it  has  been  already  shown,  is  that  it  subserves  the 
experience  of  genuine  religion  in  the  soul.  It  is  used 
by  the  Spirit  in  his  gracious  work  of  regeneration,  sanc- 
tification,  and  even  glorification.  It  teaches  us  the  spi- 
rituality of  duty,  sin,  obedience,  and  requirement.  It 
thus  revolutionizes  th»  ancient  antinomianism  of  the 
soul ;  corrects  its  mistakes ;  enhghtens,  purifies,  hum- 
bles, and  convinces  it ;  and  thus  inspires  right  views  of 
the  nature  of  religion,  prej^aring  it  for  a  cordial  and  an 
intelligent  acceptance  of  (Jhrist.  This  was  precisely 
its  ministry  in  the  case  of  the  apostle,  as  recorded  in 
the  context.  Previous  to  this  process  of  law- work  in 
his  soul,  he  was  a  self-glorying  Pharisee.  His  outward 
character  was  indeed  extraordinary.  It  was  "  blame- 
less." His  morals  were  unblemished.  His  religion 
was  cultivated  with  great  proficiency,  and  exemplified 


62  THE   I-AW  OF  GOD.  DISC.   11. 

with  singular  consistency,  coin-age,  and  zeal.  (Jould 
one  mortal  of  our  species  have  been  saved  on  his  own 
account,  and  without  the  grace  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus, 
that  mortal  were  Saul  of  Tarsus.  His  own  correct 
manner  of  life  was  an  object  of  envy  or  applause  to 
his  countrymen,  and  a  subject,  of  congratulation  and 
self-complacency  to  himself  It  constituted  his  justi- 
fication created  his  hope,  and  sustained  liis  perse- 
verance. It  was  "  life"  to  him  ;  for,  as  he  says,  "  I  was 
ulive  without  the  law  once  ;"  that  is,  without  any  just 
conc(;plioii  of  the  law,  as  if  it  were  a  body  without  a 
soul.  Ho  he  kept  it,  and  gloried  in  his  own  sufficiency. 
Like  a  bankrupt  merchant,  who  precludes  an  exami- 
nation of  his  accounts,  trades  upon  his  own  fancied 
capital,  and  feels  as  solvent  as  if  he  owed  nothing,  and 
as  if  his  income  were  affluence.  Now,  by  what  means 
came  he^o  the  knowledge  of  his  own  deploralile  bank- 
ruptcy and  the  ruin  of  his  sjiiritual  aflUirs  ?  How  was 
he  brought  to  stop  payment,  to  meet  his  creditors,  to 
surrender  all,  and  to  compound  with  their  mercy  with- 
out the  fraction  of  a  farthing  in  the  pound.  Answer — 
through  the  knowledge  of  the  law,  of  its  spirituafity, 
perfection,  eternal  excellency,  and  uncompromising  ex- 
actitude. Now  his  righteousness  evanished,  his  hope 
was  extinguished,  his  sins — like  the  ghosts  of  murdered 
men — rose  from  the  dead  to  haunt  and  convulse  his 
lx)som,  and  liis  anguish  of  soid  Avas  acute  and  ingenu- 
ous as  nothing  but  a  corresponding  experience  can  ade- 
quately evince.     Hear  his  own  account.     "  For  I  was 


DISC.  II.  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  63 

alive  without  the  law  once  ;  but  when  the  command- 
ment came,  sin  revived,  and  I  died."  By  what  means 
came  this  spiritual  knowledge  of  the  law  to  illumine 
his  perceptions  ?  I  answer,  by  means  of  a  fixed  and 
honest  attention,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit  of 
God,  to  the  nature  and  terms  of  the  law.  "  What 
shall  we  say  then?  Is  the  law  sin?  God  forbid. 
Nay,  I  had  not  known  sin,  but  by  the  law :  for  I  had 
not  known  lust,  except  the  law  had  said,  Thou  shalt 
not  covet.  But  sin,  taking  occasion  by  the  command- 
ment, wrought  in  me  all  manner  of  concupiscence. 
For  without  the  law  sin  was  dead."  By  "  the  law"  he 
means  comprehensively  the  whole  code  ;  by  "  the  com- 
mandment" a  single  precept,  and  that  the  tenth,  of  the 
decalogue.  But  why  fix  on  this  ?  The  answer  is — 
that  the  tenth  is  the  only  one  of  the  ten  that  is  ex- 
expressly  spiritual  in  its  terms :  "  Thou  shalt  not 
covet ;"  that  is,  thou  shalt  not  desire  any  forbidden  or 
unlawful  object.  The  word  "  lust,"  as  it  here  occurs, 
is  much  more  generic  and  extensive  in  the  original  than 
in  oiu-  English  translation.  It  is  often  used  in  the 
New  Testament  in  a  perfectly  general  sense,  for  de- 
sire ;  sometimes  in  a  good  sense  for  holy  desire.  Here 
it  means  any  wayward  inclination  of  tlie  soul  towards 
a  forbidden  object.  His  previous  views  of  the  law  left 
that  fountain  of  concupiscence  imexplored.  He  was 
almast  or  quite  unconscious  of  its  existence.  He  had 
never  brought  it  into  judgment  or  compared  it  with  that 
etherial  standard  that  demands -M rut h  in  the  inward 


64  .  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  DISC.   11. 

parts.''  Hence  he  mistook  every  thing.  Like  other 
Jews,  his  piety  expatiated  only  in  the  exterior ;  and 
here  was  the  cardinal  mistake  of  I  he  nation.  On  this 
account  they  refused  a  spiritual,  and  ex[jected  a  secular, 
Messiah.  But  it  is  a  mistake  by  no  means  confined 
to  the  Jews.  It  is  the  sin  and  misery  of  human  na- 
ture. Spirituality  marks  the  boundaries  of  the  king- 
dom of  heaven,  including  all  the  spiritual  and  excluding 
all  the  carnal  of  the  species.  It  is  the  index  and 
the  criterion  of  true  religion,  as  contradistinguished 
from  fabulous  and  vain,  from  imaginings  of  folly,  and 
doings  of  self-righteousness.  What  a  transformation 
is  presented  in  the  example  of  Paul !  What  a  glori- 
ous convert !  How  differently  does  he  speak  and  act, 
think  and  feel,  suffer  and  enjoy,  after  he  came  to  know 
and  to  approve  the  moral  law,  that  mirror  of  the  divine 
perfections  !  "  Wherefore  the  law  is  holy,  and  the 
commandment  holy,  and  just,  and  good.  Was  then 
that  which  is  good  made  death  unto  me  ?  God  forbid. 
But  sin,  that  it  might  appear  sin,  worJcing  death  in  me 
by  that  which  is  good ;  that  sin  by  the  commandment 
might  Ijecome  exceeding  sinful" — or,  according  to  the 
bold  personification  of  the  original,  "  that  sin  might  be- 
come an  exceeding  sinner !"  He  adds,  "  For  we  know 
that  the  law  is  spiritual ;"  not  the  tenth  commandment 
only,  but  the  whole  law.  The  jurisdiction  of  God 
affects  the  spirits  of  men  ;  aims  at  the  soul ;  demands 
the  heart ;  and  comparatively  annihilates  all  considera- 
tion of  our  moral  exterior.     And  is  it  wrong  in  this? 


DISC.   II.  THE    LAW  OF  GOD.  65 

No  !  ft  is  holy,  just,  and  good."  And,  says  every  tme 
worshipper,  "  I  consent  unto  the  law  that  it  is  good.  I 
delight  in  the  law  of  God,  after  the  inward  man.  But 
I  see  another  law  in  my  members  warring  against  the 
law  of  my  mind,  and  bringing  me  into  captivity  to  the 
law  of  sin  which  is  in  my  members.  O  wretched  man 
that  I  am  !  who  shall  deliv<n-  me  from  the  body  of  this 
death  ?  I  thank  God,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." 
It  remains  to  answer  the  inquiry, 

V.  What  are  the  attributes  of  excellence 

THAT  commend  THE  LAW  OF  GoD  TO  THE  APPRO- 
BATION AND  AFFECTION  OF  ALL  HIS  MORAL  SUB- 
JECTS ? 

Certain  ir  is  that  God  himself  loves  his  law  ;  that  all 
virtuous  beings  love  it ;  and  that  to  love,  obey,  and  ex- 
emplify it  perfectly  Avill  be  the  eternal  history  of  the 
ransomed.  Without  conformity  to  its  excellence  and 
dehght  in  its  nature,  piety  is  a.  delusion,  virtue  a  fiction, 
and  happiness  a  dream.  It  is  one  of  the  sterling  glo- 
ries of  the  gospel,  that,  through  the  efficacy  of  faith,  it 
sanctifies,  assimilates,  and  finally  perfectionates  the 
christian,  according  to  this  eternal  standard.  There 
must  be  some  adequate  reasons  then  for  this  authentic 
regard  to  the  law  of  God :  and  what  are  they '? 

Our  text  informs  us,  in  three  words :  "  the  law  is 
holy,  and  just,  and  good."  What  a  eulogium  !  Sim- 
ple, brief,  true.  How  then  could  it  be  better  ?  Who 
could  alter  and  not  injure  it  ?  "  The  law  of  the  Lord 
1'?  perfetl."      Lei  u^  contemplate  for  a  moment    und 


66  THE   LAW    1)1.'  (,on.  DISC.   II. 

with  distinctness,  the  tliree  charMcterislic  excellencies 
just  recited. 

1.  The  law  is  holy.  Holiner^is  in  (jiod  means,  com- 
prehensively, and  somewhat  al)stractly,  his  perfect  moral 
excellence :  in  creatures,  it  means  consecration  to  God 
or  whatever  coincides  with  his  moral  nature  and  the 
ends  which  he  pursues  in  his  moral  administration. 
The  law  then  is  holy,  because  of  its  moral  excellence, 
its  purity,  perfection,  and  unsufFering  opposition  to  sin  : 
and  because  of  its  relation  to  God,  as  his  law,  his 
moral  similitude,  and  the  instrument  by  which  his  holy 
reign  is  manifested  and  maintained. 

2.  It  is  just.  It  is  equal,  impartial,  and  exact,  in 
rendering  to  all  their  dues.  It  represents  to  each,  the 
rights  of  all ;  founds  duties  on  rights,  and  resjjects  not 
the  persons  of  its  subjects.  It  is  just  in  its  demands : 
for  these  are  always  coimnensurate  with  the  capacity  of 
its  subjects,  never  exacting  more  at  any  given  moment 
than  what  equals  the  ability  of  the  subject  to  perform. 
Its  demand  is  always  measured  by  the  powers  pos- 
sessed ;  otherwise  it  would  plainly  be  unjust.  To  ex- 
ceed ability  in  the  least  is  as  really  unrighteous  as  to 
exceed  it  in  the  greatest.  It  is  this  eternal  correspond- 
ence between  ability  and  obligation  that  manifests  his 
righteousness,  who  made  the  law  and  who  thus  appeals 
to  our  moral  judgment ;  "  are  not  my  ways  equal  V' 
Equal  they  could  never  be,  did  he  command  what  we 
could  not  perform  ;  did  he  transcend  our  cai)abilities  in 
his  requisitions  ;  cUd  he  challenge  impossibilities  of  his 


DISC.  II.  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  67 

creatures  on  pain  of  that,  death  which  constitutes  the 
penalty  of  his  law,  or  did  he  challenge  them  at  alL 
That  he  never  did  such  a  thing,  that  he  never  will  do 
it,  that  he  never  could  do  it,  because  "  he  cannot  deny 
himself,"  are  positions  to  my  mind  as  evident  and  as 
important  quite  as  that  of  his  existence.  He  is  per- 
fectly just  himself;  and  his  law  is  but  the  representa- 
tive of  his  nature  and  the  organ  of  his  government. 
The  talents  of  his  servants  vary  in  degree,  in  nature, 
and  in  form ;  yet,  as  he  dispenses,  so  he  requires  of 
^'  every  man,  according  to  his  several  abihty."  The 
man  who  has  ten  talents  is  obligated  on  the  same  prin- 
ciple as  he  that  has  five,  or  two,  or  one ;  and  that  is, 
to  improve  Avhat  he  has,  to  exercise  the  powers  he  pos- 
sesses, and  to  do  tiis  will  "  according  to  the  abihty  which 
God  giveth,  that  God  in  all  things  may  be  glorified. 
For  if  there  be  first  a  willing  mind,  it  is  accepted  ac- 
cording to  that  which  a  man  hath  and  not  according  to 
that  he  hath  not."  I  can  scarce  conceive  of  a  senti- 
ment more  subversive  of  all  righteousness,  or  more 
ruinous  to  the  glory  of  the  divine  moral  government, 
than  that  God  may  demand  of  us  what  we  have  no 
power  to  perform.  Disinchnation  may  prevent  us  from 
obedience ;  but  that  will  not  impair  the  justice  of  the 
requisition,  for  it  implies  the  possession  of  adequate  abi- 
lity ;  and  sin  does  but  ••  commend  the  righteousness  of 
God,"  while  it  challenges-  from  his  justice  its  appro- 
priate recompense. 


68  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  DISC.  II. 

The  law  is  just  also  in  what  it  inflicts.  It  is  just  in 
its  penalty.  This  (wsition  is  not  disputable,  though 
often  disputed.  I  am  willing-  liowcwer  to  athnit  that  it 
is,  in  its  manifold  relations,  the  most  terrilic  and  trying 
sentiment  of  revealed  religion.  I  go  further ;  it  is  the 
most  terrific  and  trying  sentiment  in  the  universe.  I 
shudder,  and  tremble,  and  doubt — and  pray,  and  sub- 
mit, and  believe,  whenever  I  think  of  it !  O  that 
volumed  interminaljle  wrath  !  that  dreadful  "  hell-fire, 
where  their  worm  dieth  not  and  their  fire  is  not 
quenched  !"  Great  and  holy  Lord  God  !  "  who  know- 
eth  the  power  of  thine  anger  ?" 

That  this  penalty  is  just,  I  said,  is  an  indisputable 
position.  But  why  indisputable  1  Christian  !  who- 
ever you  are,  why  do  you  not  dispute  it  ?  Shall  I  tell 
you?  First,  because  of  the  clear  evidence  that  God 
has  revealed  the  fact  and  decided  the  question ;  and 
second,  because  you  have  confidence  in  his  perfections 
as  one  who  understands  himself,  who  will  do  right,  and 
who  will  also  vindicate  his  rectitude  hereafter  to  the 
conviction  of  the  universe.  It  is  in  this  confidence  that 
we  begin  our  religion  in  this  world  ;  it  is  in,  this  confi- 
dence tliat  we  increase  and  purify  and  retain  it ;  and  it 
is  in  this  confidence  that  we  find  the  balm  of  holy  resig- 
nation, and  the  peace  of  solid  piety,  ministering  strength 
and  establishment  to  our  souls.  Speculation  may 
sometimes  assist  us ;  philosophy  may  look  at  causes, 
utihties,  and  results  ;  vanity  may  deny  our  short-sight- 
edness; and  "  school-tauglit  pride,  dissembling  all  it 


niSC.   II.  THE  LAW  OF  GOD  09 

can."  may  profess  an  exaltation  ahove  llie  necessity  ol 
faith  in  God .  After  all,  piety  will  recur  to  i\  vA.  principles ; 
will  look  at  the  awfully  conclusive  evidence  of  the 
fact ;  will  rest  in  the  simplicities  of  revealed  statement, 
and  say  with  confidence  and  even  joy,  "  Even  so,  Fa- 
ther, for  so  it  seemed  good  in  thy  sight."  For  one,  I 
know  of  no  safe  or  honourable  reti-eat  on  this  point 
from  "  the  law  and  the  testimony."  Nothing  less  than 
the  evidence  of  inspiration  should  ever  conciliate  my 
own  faith  hi  the  doctrine  of  eternal  punishment.  But 
where  that  evidence  abounds,  I  compassionate  with  all 
my  soul  the  man  that  asks  for  more  !  I  fear  he  will 
get  what  he  asks ;  and  that  God,  taking  him  at  his 
word,  will  add  personal  experience  to  divine  testimony  ; 
and  thus  make  it  credible,  to  one  who  thinks  it  insuffi- 
cient when  alone  !  nor  can  I  leave  this  branch  of  the 
argument  without  a  word  of  exhortation.  I  affection- 
ately beseech  you,  my  beloved  hearers,  to  do  "as  ye  have 
us  for  an  ensample" — to  confide  in  God  fully  to  explain 
it,  while  you  cordially  admit  with  Paul  the  justice  of  the 
law  !  You  can  never  prove  the  contrary.  It  may  seem 
hard  to  you,  to  whom  sin  seems  innocent.  Besides,  you 
are  an  interested  party ;  you  are  infinitely  interested  ! 
And  are  you  sure  that  sin  has  never  blinded  your  eyes, 
or  selfishness  darkened  your  judgment,  or  impenitence 
destroyed  your  sympathies  with  righteousness  J  This 
only  would  I  learn  of  you  in  the  case ;  Are  you  a 
Judge,  or  a  criminal  ?  Is  it  hkely  that  you  are  right  in 
contrariety  to  God  ?  If  you  were  perfectly  holy,  would 
you  not  judge  differently  '!■     Are  you  wise  to  venture 


70  THE   LAW  OK  GOD.  DISC.   II. 

your  decision  Mgaiiit^t  liis  who  made  you?  Can  you 
accept  grace,  while  you  cavil  at  justice  'I  Will  dissent 
and  murmuring  alter  the  fact,  or  save  one  soul,  or  help 
you  in  a  possible  extremity,  or  please  the  Judge  Eter- 
nal ?  Surrender  then,  I  implore  you ;  surrender  at 
discretion  !  Acquiesce  ;  confide  ;  and  wait  the  expla- 
nations of  eternity.  "  The  oljedience  of  faith,"  on  this 
article  })rc-eniineiitly,  is  exacted  of  you ;  and  1  know 
of  no  way,  |)hiloHO})hical,  devotional,  or  honest,  I  repeat 
it,  in  which  faith  may  be  legitunately  superseded  or 
reduced.  CJod  knows  all  things.  Immensity ;  eter- 
nity ;  the  manifold  interests  and  relations  of  all  crea- 
tures ;  the  sum  of  blessedness  ;  the  utilities  of  judicial 
misery ;  and  his  own  wisdom  in  the  existence,  the  per- 
petuity, and  the  punishment  of  sin  ;  are  understood  by 
him  alone :  and  him  you  must  devoutly  honour  or  im- 
piously arraign ;  must  vindicate  or  criminate ;  must 
glorify  or  blaspheme.  Make  then  your  election.  You 
cannot  impeach  the  law,  without  condemning  the  Law- 
giver :  and  as  to  the  absurdity  which  a  proud  presump- 
tion ventures  to  allege  in  the  premises,  remember  that 
the  greatest  absurdity  ever  seen  in  the  universe  is  this — 
that  a  mortal  man  shoidd  think  himself  wiser,  better, 
or  more  compasisionate,  than  his  Maker  ! 

3.  The  law  is  ^ood.  This  proposition,  taken  dis- 
tinctly, means,  1  think,  that  the  law  tends  to  happiness  ; 
that  it  loves,  promotes,  and  guaranties  the  happiness  of 
the  universe.  The  (juestion  is  not  what  kind  of  a  sys- 
tem has  God  created  ?  for  this  is  known.     Nor,  Had  he 


DISC.  II.  THE  LAW  OP  GOD.  71 

a  right  to  create  such  an  one  ?  for  this  is  admitted. 
These  things  then  being  premised,  we  must  admit  that 
the  law  is  good  ;  for  the  following  are  all  the  alternatives 
of  which  the  case  admits,  and  the  only  defensible  one 
of  these  affirms  the  goodness  of  the  law :  namely, 
either  we  must  have  no  law  in  the  system  ;  or  we  must 
suggest  another  law  that  can  be  shown  to  l)e  better  ;  or 
we  must  have  the  law  that  God  has  itctwally  ;uloi)ted  : 
and  if  no  better  law  can  l)e  advanced,  we  must  admit 
not  only  that  it  is  good,  but  the  best  possible.  We 
have  two  positions  to  refute,  in  order  to  establish  the 
third.  And  who  will  affirm  that  a  lawless  universe  of 
rational  creatures  would  be  an  improvement?  a  uni- 
verse in  which  injuries  might  be  given  with  impunity 
and  suffered  without  redress !  where  mischief  and 
misery  should  be  no  more  forbidden  than  kindness  and 
beneficence  !  where  malignity  would  be  sinless,  slan- 
der authorized,  and  murder  uncensured !  where  there 
could  ])e  no  motive  adequate  to  order ;  no  obligation  ; 
no  rights,  wrongs,  or  duties ;  where  a  Byron,  "  a  Bor- 
gia, or  a  Cataline,"  should  be  just  as  estimable  as  a 
Howard,  a  Luther,  or  a  Paul !  where  Satan  and  Ga- 
briel might  l)e  equally  aloof  from  condemnation  or  suspi- 
cion, and  where  the  only  sin  would  consist  in  Ijlaming 
the  sinner !  In  such  a  system,  there  could  exist  no 
centre ;  no  cement ;  no  common  bond  ;  no  fellowship  ; 
no  community  of  interests  ;  no  happiness  ;  no  security  ; 
no  peace ;  no  corrective  ;  no  hope  !  And  if  the  end 
of  such  a  desired  state  ol'  things  Ije  to  avoid  tiic  exist- 


72  THE   LAW  OP  GOD.  DISC.  IT. 

ence  and  the  relations  of  a  liell,  let.  ns  panse  before  we 
aver  the  wisdom  of  a  project  that  must  ela])orately 
defeat  itself.  The  whole  universe  on  that  hy][3othesis 
would  be  a  hell ;  and  the  prison  would  be  identified  with 
the  empire.  What  man  so  niiiili  an  ideot,  or  so  much 
a  maniac,  to  desire  such  a  imiverse  of  misery,  such  a 
chaos  of  utter  despau- ! 

It  remains  to  lind,  if  we  can,  a  better  law  I  ban  I  bat 
of  God.  If  the  penalty  Avere  less,  it  would  be  another 
law ;  but  who  can  prove  that  it  would  be  a  better  one  ? 
The  being,  adecjuate  to  such  proof,  must  be  every  way 
the  paramount  of  God :  he  must  be  more  knowing 
than  Omniscience,  wiser  than  Infinite  Wisdom,  better 
than  Eternal  Love  !  Who  but  God  understands  all  the 
interests  which  law  is  framed  to  represent,  and  penalty 
enacted  to  defend  ?  A  less  penalty — would  that  suf- 
fice ?  what,  when  sin  is  so  desperate  already  that,  to 
gain  its  purpose,  it  defies  the  universe,  makes  nothing 
of  God,  and  laughs  at  "  eternal  damnation  ?"  There 
would  be  no  adequate  force  in  a  sanction,  which  would 
leave  to  rebellion  the  solace  of  hope,  the  power  of 
finished  expiation,  and  the  pledge  of  ultimate  recovery. 
It  is  the  exclusion  of  hope,  which  constitutes  the  pov/er 
of  penalty  to  instruct,  to  warn,  and  to  prevent  trans- 
gression. It  is  this,  which  defines  "  the  second  death  ;" 
which  interprets  to  all  the  penalty  that  is  threatened  ; 
and  which  supplies  perhaps  the  greatest  possible  motive, 
known  to  God  himself,  to  deter  from  sin.  If  you 
allege  that  even  this  is  incompetent,  since  sin  abounds  : 


THE  LAW  OF  GOD, 


73 


I  answer,  it  is  probable  that  siji  has  infected  in  fact  but 
an  inconceivably  small  proportion  of  the  vast  commu- 
nity of  worlds  which  people  tlxe  dominions  of  God ;  I 
answer,  that  the  inference  from  its  partial  prevalence 
that  none  is  prevented,  and  that  more  will  not  be  per- 
fectly and  eternally  prevented  by  means  of  its  actual 
punishment  and  its  gracious  pardon,  as  illustrated  in 
hell  and  heaven  forever,  is  inconsiderate  and  vain ;  I 
answer,  that  the  same  reasoning-,  applied  to  the  present 
world,  would  abolish  law,  unhinge  society,  and  make  a 
vast  Aceldama  of  the  globe  we  inhaljit ;  and  finally,  I 
answer,  that  all  the  innumerable  habitations  of  the  uni- 
verse constitute  but  one  empire  under  God  ;  that  all  are 
mutually  and  eternally  related;  that  the  history  of 
each  will  have  its  influence  on  all  the  others ;  that 
events,  such  as  have  occurred  in  tliat  department  to 
which  we  belong,  shall  be  rehearsed  in  other  depart- 
ments, and  with  lasting  effect,  for  the  instruction,  ad- 
monition, and  preservation,  of  millions  as  many  as  the 
individuals  of  this ;  and  all  this  probably  as  the  appro- 
priate means  of  eternally  preventing  another 
EXAMPLE  of  sin,  after  the  scheme  of  our  system  shall 
be  conducted  to  its  consummation  !  "  to  the  intent  that 
now  unto  the  principalities  and  powers  in  heavenly 
places  might  be  known  by  the  church  the  manifold 
wisdom  of  God  ;  according  to  the  eternal  purpose  which 
he  purposed  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord."  Here,  I  have 
no  doubt,  is  the  final  cause  of  hell's  perpetuity — the 
utility  of  which  God  will  make  it  the  eternal  occasion  ! 
10 


74  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  DISC.  II. 

Otherwise,  that  isj  if  no  use  could  be  made  of  it,  it  is 
but  a  just  and  necessary  deduction,  from  his  perfect 
attributes,  who  swears  by  his  own  existence  that  he 
has  "  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  him  that  dieth,"  that 
hell  would  be  instantly  and  forever  annihilated  ! 

Let  us  look  for  a  moment  at  the  precept  of  the  law  ; 
and  see  if  it  be  not  good,  and  if  we  are  the  sages  that 
could  change  it  for  the  better.  Do  we  object  to  its  spi- 
rituality 7  to  its  cognizance  of  motives  ?  to  its  high  ex- 
action of  internal  purity  and  benevolence  ?  What  im- 
provement then  could  we  allege?  The  law  must 
respect  outward  conduct  alone ;  must  be  a  mere  regu- 
lator of  the  mechanics  of  action ;  must  induce  an  au- 
thorized system  of  decent  hypocrisy,  fictitious  goodness, 
and  holy  grimace  !  And  this  is  the  suggested  improve- 
ment ! 

Think  of  the  object  of  legal  requisition.  It  is  love  ! 
Is  not  this  good?  Does  it  not  tend  to  happiness? 
Can  any  other  source  of  communicated  happiness  l)e 
soberly  compared  with  this  ?  Were  love  always  and 
imiversally  prevalent,  how  much  misery  would  exist  ? 
How  came  misery  to  exist,  but  l:»y  breaking  the  law  of 
God  ?  Was  the  law  given  to  be  broken,  or  to  be  kept  ? 
Is  God  pleased  with  sin  or  holiness  ?  How  much  hap- 
piness then,  did  tlie  law,  as  the  grand  instrument  of 
moral  administration,  directly  and  naturally  intend? 
I  answer,  happiness,  happiness  alone,  perfect  happiness  ; 
universal,  infinite,  eternal  happiness ;  and  tliis  to  the 
exclusion  of  every  adverse  principle  or  event.  Is  the 
law  good?  or  could  pnrbhnd  mortals  legislate  abetter? 


DISC.   II.  THE  LAW  OP  GOD.  75 

One  aspect  yet  remains  to  be  presented  of  the  excel- 
lency of  the  law.  We  have  all  seen  its  objective  good- 
ness, or  that  which  it  really  tends  to  produce  to  others. 
We  are  all  sensible  of  the  good  of  being  the  objects  of 
love ;  and  scarcely  a  reprobate  or  demon  exists  who 
coidd  not  be  made  to  acknowledge  it.  But  shall  we 
forget  its  subjective  goodness  ?  the  happiness  its  very 
exercise  produces  ?  What  feelings  conceivable  or  pos- 
sible, like  those  of  pure  love,  to  beatify  their  possessor  ? 
God  himself  is  blessed  forevermore ;  "God  is  love :" 
and  were  he  not  love,  he  could  not  be  blessed.  How 
godlike  the  blessedness  of  love !  O  what  essential 
beatitude,  what  fellowship  divine,  to  have  our  whole 
capacities  full  and  overflowing  with  this  elemental 
heaven  !  "  Wherefore  the  law  is  holy  ;  and  the  com- 
mandment holy,  and  just,  and  good."  And  God  is 
good  who  gave  it.  And  let  all  his  creatures  love,  and 
praise  him,  who  is  forever  worthy  !  I  only  add,  that 
the  goodness  of  the  law  is  identified  with  that  of  the 
Lawgiver ;  and  that  it  will  be  the  prosperous  concern 
of  his  government  to  make  that  goodness  indubitable, 
in  a  way  of  progressive  demonstration  and  progressive 
conviction,  through  the  infinite  cycles  of  eternity.  The 
period  is  at  hand  when  not  a  doubter  on  this  point  will 
exist  even  in  hell !  and  even  there  the  abhorred  convic- 
tion will  increase  forever  that  the  law  is  good. 

Having  thus  considered,  though  in  rapid  outhne,  the 
questions  proposed,  respecting  the  nature  and  relations 
of  the  law  of  God,  I  shall  in  the  conclusion  crave  your 


76  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  DISC.  II. 

patience,  while  I  briefly  present  a  few  of  tlie  lessons  of 
wisdom  tliencc  deducible. 

1.  The  absurdity,  sin,  and  danger  of  antinomian- 
ism.  This  very  comprehensive  word  was  well  in- 
vented, I  believe  by  the  ^eat  apostle  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, to  brand  any  sentiment  that  dishonoured  or  op- 
posed the  law  of  God.  Its  etymology  answers  to  its 
sense  and  warrants  its  application ;  meaning  enmity 
or  opposition  to  law.  Hence  we  are  authorized  to  say 
that  there  exists  in  our  world,  in  our  hearts,  and  our 
reasonings,  just  as  much  antinomianism  as  there  is  dis- 
conformity  to  law  in  theory  or  practice.  As  a  heresy, 
while  it  is  among  the  vilest  and  while  it  is  the  great 
parent  of  them  all,  it  is  an  abstract  one ;  being  in  terms 
professed,  so  far  as  I  know,  by  no  church  nominal  of 
Christ.  But  alas  !  how  much  of  it  exists  !  and  worse ; 
how  much  of  its  insidious  poison,  often  changing  its 
form  and  often  its  name,  but  never  its  nature,  revels  in 
our  bosoms,  infects  our  theological  reasonings,  and  min- 
gles with  our  very  devotions  !  Antinomianism  in  the 
church !  It  is  like  the  serpent  among  the  flowers  of 
Eden  ;  like  "  the  man  of  sin"  throned  in  "  the  temple 
of  God ;"  like  rebellion  in  heaven  when  the  monster 
first  appeared  !  Let  us  beware  of  it.  It  may  cheat  us 
of  our  crown.  It  is  just  as  contrary  to  the  gospel  as 
it  is  to  the  law ;  to  the  triumphs  of  mercy  as  to  the 
claims  of  justice  ;  to  Christ  as  to  his  Father.  It  aw- 
fully retards  the  process  of  sanctification  in  God's  own 
elect ;  it  endamages  their  piety  ;  it  disgraces  their  pro- 


DISC.  II.  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  77 

fcssion  ;  it  prevents  tlieir  discernment ;  it  lessens  their 
influence ;  and  it  awfully  impairs  their  reward.  Shall 
I  add — what  I  know  will  aflect  them — it  is  a  most  un- 
grateful return  for  the  holy  and  unspeakable  Love  that 
died  for  them,  "  that  he  might  redeem  them  from  all 
ini(iuity,  and  purify  unto  liimself  a  peculiar  people, 
zealous  of  good  works." 

2.  The  proper  criterion  of  character  is  the  law  of 
God.  Various  indeed  are  the  estimates  of  human  na- 
ture as  made  by  its  constituents  in  this  world ;  and 
while  these  differ  among  themselves  through  all  de- 
grees of  the  scale,  they  generally  differ  more  from  the 
estimate  of  the  bible.  Why  is  this  ?  Plainly  because 
men  judge  by  different  standards,  while  there  ia  but 
one  right  standard.  Their  judgments  would  be  correct 
comparatively,  were  then-  standards  of  judgment  right. 
To  surrender  every  false  criterion,  and  adopt  that  of 
God,  marks  an  important  stage  of  the  process  of  rege- 
neration, from  preliminary  to  complete.  So  it  was 
with  Paul.  He  exchanged  the  standard  of  the  Phari- 
see for  that  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  And  how  did  it  revo- 
lution into  truth  all  his  erring  preposessions  !  God  re- 
gards his  law  alone  in  his  estimate  of  men.  No  other 
standard  will  be  honoured  in  the  day  of  judgment 
And  now,  my  respected  hearers,  is  this  our  standard  ? 
Is  our  estunate  of  others,  and  especially  of  ourselves^ 
governed  by  the  law  of  God  ?  what  think  we  then  of 
human  nature  ?-  that  it  "  is  holy,  just,  and  good  ?"  or 
that  it  is  "  evil,  and  only  evil,  and  that  continually," 


78  THE  LAW  OP  GOD.  DISC.  II. 

till  the  grace  of  the  gospel,  ol^eyed  and  loved,  changes, 
cleanses,  and  conforms  it,  to  the  eternal  excellency  of 
the  law  ?     Hence, 

3.  The  7iecessity  of  apjnoving  the  law,  of  under- 
standing and  loving  it,  of  being  cordially/  jdeased 
ivitli  it,  nay  of  deligJiting  in  it ;  the  necessity  of  this, 
I  say,  in  order  to  the  existence  of  jiiety  in  the  said. 
There  is  no  salvation  in  the  gospel,  for  those  who  con- 
tinue the  enemies  of  the  law.  It  is  just  as  hard — if 
hard  it  will  be  called — to  love  grace  as  justice ;  pre- 
cisely as  hard  !  Nor  is  the  repentance  genume,  nor  the 
faith  operative,  nor  the  humility  true,  nor  the  devotion 
acceptable,  nor  the  hope  authentic,  of  those  whose  evan- 
gelical piety  leaves  them  disliking  or  barely  tolerating 
the  law  of  God. 

4.  The  connexion  between  correct  views  and  feel- 
ings, in  relation  to  the  laic  of  God,  and  doctrinal 
soundness  in  religion.  The  man  "that  loveth  or 
maketh  a  he,"  does  it  because  he  is  the  enemy  of  the 
law  of  God.  Those  who  understand  and  love  this 
law,  are  such  lovers  of  truth  that  the  total  doctrine  of 
the  bible,  so  far  as  it  is  discovered,  just  suits  them. 
Hence  all  their  moral  feelings  are  in  favour  of  evi- 
dence ;  in  league  with  divine  testimony  ;  and  divorced 
from  "  the  spirit  of  error."  Hence  the  lovers  of  the 
law  of  God  piusue  wisdom  ;  search  for  truth  ;  pray  for 
divine  guidance ;  examine  incessantly  the  scriptures  ; 
make  the  necessary  decisions  and  sacrifices ;  and  be- 
come habituated  to  the  lessons  of  inspiration,  "  strength- 


DISC.  II.  THE  LAW  OP  GOD.  79 

ened,  established,  settled,"  in  "  the  faith  once  delivered 
to  the  saints." 

5.  The  gospel  is  good.  This  is  one  of  the  most 
important  lessons  we  can  deduce  from  the  nature  and 
relations  of  the  law.  The  law  and  the  gospel  are  not 
the  same ;  they  are  not  to  be  confounded ;  they  are  to 
be  compared,  distinguished,  and  understood  as  things 
that  differ :  while  Luther  was  certainly  right  in  making 
a  thorough  and  discriminating  knowledge  of  both,  a 
criterion,  or  rather  the  criterion,  of  a  sound  and  compe- 
tent theologian.  But  still  they  are  mutually  and  vitally 
related  ;  so  that  Ijoth  are  good,  if  either  is  good  ;  and 
both  are  evil,  if  either  is  evil.  The  law  and  the  gospel 
have  a  common  soul  of  holiness  ;  a  common  source  of 
holiness ;  a  common  scope  of  holiness.  The  gospel 
as  a  system  gives  to  the  law  perhaps  the  highest,  bright- 
est, fullest  honour  that  it  can  ever  receive.  If  the  law 
be  evil,  how  then  can  the  gospel  be  good  ?  If  the  law 
be  good,  and  that  superlatively,  good  also  is  "  the  glo- 
rious gospel  of  the  blessed  God."  How  absurd  then 
and  vain  for  us  to  bless  ourselves  with  hope  through  the 
gospel,  while  our  hearts  are  inimical  to  the  law  !  while 
we  dislike  to  hear  any  preaching  that  explains  and 
vindicates  the  law  !  while  possibly  we  dare  to  calum- 
niate the  holy  and  enlightened  faithfulness  of  those 
preachers,  who  treat  of  the  law  as  Apostles  treated  of 
it ;  and  while  we  are  not  afraid  to  stigmatize  it  as 
legal  preaching,  duU  morality,  and  a  dereliction  of  the 
gospel !     An  antinomian  preacher  is  an  anti-evangeli- 


80  THE  LAW  OP  GOD.  DISC.  II. 

cal  preacher ;  and  the  hearers  who  prefer  such  an  one, 
would  do  well  to  examine  again  "  which  be  the  first 
principles  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ :"  for  the  law  and 
the  gospel  have  a  common  moral  nature. 

There  is  treachery  organized  in  the  grace  of  the  gos- 
pel, if  there  be  not  righteousness  embodied  in  the  struc- 
ture of  the  law :  and  there  is  hypocrisy,  or,  if  you  will, 
self-deceit  and  vanity,  in  our  favouring  the  grace  of  the 
gospel,  and  preferring  that  grace,  and  glorying  in  that 
grace,  unless  we  sincerely  approve,  nay  morally  enjoy, 
the  eternal  excellency  of  the  law  of  God.  And  if  this 
test  of  character,  in  relation  both  to  the  law  and  the  gos- 
pel, be  appaling,  it  only  proves  our  own  perilous  antino- 
mianism.  Among  tests  it  is  lucid  and  transcendent. 
It  is  a  test  for  which  we  ought  to  be  grateful ;  for  it  is 
one  of  the  best  in  our  possession.  By  its  faithful  use, 
"  coming  to  the  light,"  we  may  ascertain  if  we  have 
any  piety ;  we  may  put  our  hope  into  the  light  of  de- 
monstration ;  we  may  exchange  the  fear  that  "  hath 
torment"  for  the  love  that  is  "  perfect ;"  we  may  forego 
forever  the  wretched  exuvice,  of  our  servile  trepidation, 
for  "  the  spirit  of  adoption,"  saying  to  God,  My  Father^ 
my  Father^  and  departing  from  him  no  more  ;  we  may 
see  ourselves  legitimately  identified  with  the  elect  of 
God,  to  whom  he  "gives  eternal  fife,"  who  shall 
"  never  perish,"  and  whom  no  power  is  "  able  to  pluck 
from  his  hand ;"  we  may  with  equal  modesty,  and 
truth,  and  infallibility,  infer  our  eternal  destination  to 
eternal  glory  in  the  new  Jerusalem ;  we  may  expect 


DISC.  II.  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  81 

heaven,  and  prepare  for  it,  and  desire  it,  for  we  shall  soon 
be  there,  exulting",  soaring,  triumphing,  in  the  glory- 
ineffable  of  the  Redeemer :  for,  a  lover  of  the  law,  and 
a  truster  in  the  gospel,  is  connected  to  God  himself,  by 
that  indissoluble  tie  that  is  constituted  forever  by  "  the 
love  of  God  which  is  in  Jesus  Christ  our  liord."  We 
may  hence  learn 

6.  Whi/  the  gospel  is  ever  rejected.  Does  this  ter- 
rible phenomenon  result  from  the  nature  of  the  gospel ; 
the  scantiness  of  its  provisions ;  the  insincerity  of  its 
overtures ;  or  the  meanness  of  its  spirit  1  None  of 
these.  The  true  reason  cannot  be  told  too  plainly  or 
repeated  too  often — it  is  just  because  men  hate  the  law 
of  God  !  It  is  this  that  helps  their  logic  to  its  quibbles 
and  their  philosophy  to  its  difficulties — because  they  are 
the  positive  enemies  of  righteousness  !  It  is  this  that 
renders  duty  so  impracticable,  service  so  difficult,  and 
piety  so  painful,  that  they  indefinitely  postpone  them  all ! 
It  is  this  that  keeps  them  impenitent,  unbelieving,  and 
"  double-minded."  It  is  this  that  veils  the  meaning  of 
the  sacred  page ;  renders  the  divine  testimony  ambigu- 
ous ;  and  maintains  such  a  standing  army  of  doubts. 
It  is  this  that  builds  the  bowers  of  heresy,  inspires  the 
spirit  of  liberalism,  and  stimulates  the  ingenuity  of  ex- 
cuses. It  is  this  that  generates  the  sirens  of  infidelity  ; 
gives  plausibihty  to  the  arguments  of  error ;  and  soothes 
the  disobedient  %vith  the  flattering  unctions  of  hope.  It 
is  this  that  convinces  the  fanatic,  establishes  the  cor- 
rupter, and  qualifies  the  vender  of  new  revelations :  this 
11 


82  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  DISC.  II. 

that  makes  folly  pass  for  wisdom,  sophistry  for  argu- 
ment, and  impiety  for  worship.  It  is  this  that  mace- 
rates the  body,  sanctions  austerity,  begets  formalism, 
enacts  revolting  penance,  dreams  of  infallibility,  and 
paganizes  the  gospel  of  God.  It  is  this  that  consti- 
tutes the  sceptic,  the  reviler,  and  the  atheist.  It  is  this 
that  misrepresents  religion  as  forbidding,  licentiousness 
as  manly,  and  responsibility  as  absurd.  It  is  this  alone 
that  prevents  universal  faith,  and  piety,  and  blessed- 
ness— it  is  antipathy  to  the  law  of  God  !  And  yet  this 
is  precisely  the  cause  that  must  not  be  assigned— be- 
cause it  is  uncharitable,  puritanical,  and  not  to  be  be- 
lieved !  The  preacher  who  alleges  this  only  as  the 
true  cause,  is  rated  as  well  meaning,  but  feeble,  deficient 
in  originality,  and  scarcely  worth  hearing :  although 
this  is  the  grand  statement  of  the  bible,  pervading  all 
its  pages,  characterizing  all  its  preachers,  and  made  with 
overpowering  light  by  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  himself; 
who  said,  "  this  is  the  condemnation,  that  light  is  come 
into  the  world,  and  men  loved  darkness  rather  than 
light,  because  their  deeds  were  evil."  This  is  the  rea- 
son, and  in  substance  the  only  reason,  why  the  gospel 
is  ever  rejected.  The  fact  rests  on  the  sober  evidence 
of  reason,  observation,  and  scripture  ;  and  is  as  palpably 
true  as  the  great  astronomical  facts  of  the  solar  system, 
according  to  Copernicus,  Galileo,  and  Newton.  It 
requires  a  strange  compound  of  ignorance,  impiety,  and 
sophistry,  to  doubt  tiiat  those  who  reject  the  gospel 
"  have  not  the  love  of  God  in  them."     The  deist,  the 


DISC.  ir.  THE  LAW  OP  GOD.  83 

moliammedan,  the  jew,  the  heretic,  and  the  sceptic,  all 
in  g-eneral  claim  to  love  the  Creator,  (if  they  admit  his 
existence,)  although  they  reject  the  gospel :  that  is,  ac- 
cording to  their  own  account,  they  are  friends  of  right- 
eousness, very  good  and  viituous,  honest  and  excellent 
men,  notwithstanding  their  rejection  of  "  Jesus  Christ 
and  him  crucified  !"  But  what  is  a  friend  of  righteous- 
ness that  loves  not  the  law  of  God  ?  And  is  it  possible 
to  love  that  law  and  yet  reject  the  gospel  ?  No  moral 
impossibility  Avas  ever  greater  or  plainer !  Look  at 
that  law ;  and  show  me  the  man  who  can  intelligently 
believe  that  anything  but  opposition  to  it  could  consist 
with  rejection  of  the  gospel !  Truly  "  the  secrets  of 
many  hearts  are  revealed  !"  For  one,  I  am  not  afraid 
to  say  that  if  I  could  at  all  believe  that  love  of  right- 
eousness ever  prompted  the  rejection  of  the  gospel ; 
nay,  if  I  were  not  convinced  that  enmity  to  the  law  is 
the  universal  prompter  of  such  rejection,  I  would  not 
only  tear  my  commission  as  a  preacher — I  would  sur- 
render also  my  hope  as  a  christian ;  and  in  the  indig- 
nant spirit  of  a  man,  I  v/ould  deny  all  religion,  and  even 
the  existence  of  its  eternal  Author !  I  ought  rather  to 
say — I  cannot  imagine  what  I  should  do,  in  a  predica- 
ment that  could  not  occur  without  a  total  revolution  of 
all  that  we  know,  or  feel,  or  hope,  as  creatures  of  ra- 
tional existence.  This  argument  will  be  very  enter- 
taining in  the  day  of  judgment ;  for  then  it  will  be 
managed  precisely  as  it  ought  to  be ;  and  its  disclosures 
will  instruct  and  astonish  the  concourse  of  immortals, 


84  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  DISC.  II. 

God  is  adequate  to  its  full  elucidation  ;  and  lie  will  lec- 
ture us  convincingly.  May  none  of  you,  my  hearers, 
evade  conviction  till  that  day  !  In  anticipation  of  its 
scenes,  I  affectionately  beseech  you,  to  trust  Jehovah 
now  !  There  is  no  venture  in  the  homage.  You  will 
lose  nothing,  jeopard  nothing,  injure  nothing,  by  ren- 
dering to  God  the  confidence  of  your  total  minds,  and 
participating  here  the  holy  triumphs  of  his  people  in 
the  prospective  and  eternal  vindication  of  his  often  dis- 
honoured name  !     And  lastly,  we  learn 

7.  The  authenticity  of  hope  in  the  gospel  alone  ; 
as  demonstrated  from  the  impossibility  of  aiitJientic 
hope  on  the  basis  of  the  laio.  To  sinners,  such  as  the 
law  shows  that  we  are,  the  gospel  alone  ministers 
grace,  peace,  and  hope.  And  to  the  gospel  alone,  as 
the  medium  of  hope,  cling  the  spirits  of  all  who  are 
lovers  of  the  law ;  while,  conversely,  the  enemies 
of  the  gospel  hope— if  they  hope  at  all— on  principles 
of  law :  they  hope  where  christians  despair,  and 
despair  where  christians  hope.  Here  is  the  grand 
paradox  of  religion  ;  that  they  alone  who  love  the  law 
for  duty,  alone  abandon  it  for  hope ;  that  those  alone 
whose  hope  is  valid,  acknowledge  their  ill-desert,  and 
resort  to  the  atmosphere  of  grace  in  order  to  breathe  the 
breath  of  spiritual  life ;  that  those  alone  who  have  vir- 
tue, abandon  their  own  goodness  as  the  ground  of  hope, 
^' being  justified  freely,  by  his  grace,  through  the  redemp- 
tion that  is  in  Christ  Jesus."  To  effect  a  spiritual  di- 
5.'orce  from  the  law  as  tjie  basis  of  iiope,  and  to  inspire 


DISC.  II.  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  85 

hope  on  the  principles  of  tlie  gospel  alone,  is  the  great  ob- 
ject of  conversion.  Thus,  in  relation  to  the  law  of  mar- 
riage, does  the  Apostle  illustrate  the  change,  in  the  first 
four  verses  of  this  chapter.  "  Knov/  ye  not,  brethren, 
(for  I  speak  to  them  that  know  the  law,)  how  that  the 
law  hath  dominion  over  a  man  as  long  as  he  liveth?" — 
or,  as  unquestionably  it  ought  to  be  rendered,  "  as  long 
as  it  (the  law)  liveth."  By  a  splendid  personification 
he  speaks  of  the  law,  as  our  natural  or  first  husband  ; 
whom,  according  to  the  law  of  marriage,  it  were  wrong 
to  abandon  in  his  life-time  :  for  then  he  could  protect, 
and  cherish,  and  ennoble  us  ;  and  then  our  obligations, 
and  "the  covenant  of  our  God"  upon  us,  exclude  all 
other  suitors,  and  bind  our  affections,  duties,  and  ser- 
vices, absolutely  to  him  alone.  But,  he  argues,  if  our 
husband  is  dead,  our  obligations  are  cancelled  ;  and  we 
are  at  liberty  to  contract  a  second  marriage  with  one 
v/ho  is  unmortal  and  life-giving  forever.  Now,  the  law, 
as  the  Bridegroom  of  souls,  is  in  effect  dead  ;  and  so  can 
be  our  husband  no  longer.  From  him  there  is  no  hope. 
No  matter  what  killed  him  ;  in  whatever  way  accom- 
plished, the  results  are  the  same  :  and  though  sin  was 
his  murderer,  and  that  sin  our  own,  yet  he  is  dead  ;  and 
the  deed  is  not  only  irrevocal3le — it  is  an  instance  of 
death  without  any  resurrection,  the  slumbers  of  which 
are  profound  and  interminable.  And  what  is  the  infer- 
ence ?  Why,  that  we  may  cease  our  mourning,  burn 
our  weeds  of  wo,  and  end  oiu-  widowhood — otherwise 


86  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  DISC.  11. 

shrouded  in  infinite  despair  !  Here  is  liope,  and  only 
here.  An  other  lover,  and  he  incomparably  preferalDle, 
"  the  Prince  of  hfe,"  offers  us  his  heart  and  his  hand,  in 
honourable  and  eternal  espousals.  To  him  we  may 
be  legitimately  "  married ;"  never  to  be  divorced,  never 
separated  even  by  death,  never  upbraided  by  con- 
science or  truth  or  goodness.  His  resources  are  infinite, 
suited  to  our  condition,  and  devoted  to  our  weal.  We 
accredit  his  affection,  accept  his  proposals,  and  consum- 
mate eternal  union  before  the  witnessing  earth  and  the 
conscious  heavens  !  "  Wherefore,  my  brethren,  ye  also 
are  become  dead  to  the  law  by  the  body  of  Christ ;  that 
ye  should  be  married  to  another,  even  to  him  who  is 
raised  from  the  dead,  that  we  should  bring  forth  fruit 
unto  God."  Of  this  marriage,  my  brethren,  hteral 
marriage  was  from  the  beginning  the  instituted  type. 
To  illustrate  this  was  one  of  the  formal  ends  intended 
to  be  answered  by  the  existence  of  the  relation  :  and  to 
celebrate  this  grandest  relation  of  man,  and  most  gra- 
cious relation  of  God,  will  be  one  of  the  desired  occupa- 
tions of  the  assembly  of  the  glorified  forever.  "  ;ind  1 
John  saw  the  holy  city,  new  Jerusalem,  coming  down 
from  God  out  of  heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride  adorned 
for  her  husband.  And  I  saw  no  temple  therein  :  for  the 
Lord  God  Almighty  and  the  Lamb  are  the  temple  of  it. 
And  the  city  had  no  need  of  the  sun,  neither  of  the 
moon,  to  shine  in  it :  for  the  glory  of  God  did  lighten  it, 
and  the  Lamb  is  the  light  thereof     And  the  nations  of 


DISC.  ir.  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  87 

them  that  are  saved  shall  walk  in  the  light  of  it :  and 
the  kings  of  the  earth  do  bring  their  glory  and  honour 
into  it.  And  there  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  it  any 
thing  that  defileth,  neither  whatsoever  worketh  abomi- 
nation, or  maketh  a  lie ;  but  they  that  are  written  in 
the  Lamb's  book  of  hfe,"     Amen. 


DISCOURSE  III. 


HUMAN  DEPRAVITY,  OR  MAN  A  FALLEN  BEING. 


Rom.  v.  20.—"  Where  sin  abounded,  grace  did  much  more  abound." 

The  fall  of  man,  the  basis  of  christian  doctrine,  was 
brought  about,  as  scripture  relates,  by  the  seductive 
artifice  of  an  evil  spirit,  who,  under  the  form  of  a  ser- 
pent, enticed  the  mother  of  the  race  to  eat  the  forbidden 
fruit.  She  persuaded  her  husband  to  commit  the  same 
trespass,  and  thus  they  lost  their  innocence,  exchanged 
their  Maker's  likeness  for  that  of  their  seducer,  and  be- 
came obnoxious  to  the  threatened  penalty  of  death. 
And  had  that  penalty  to  its  utmost  extent  been  instantly 
inflicted  upon  them,  what  cause  had  God's  violated  jus- 
tice given  for  wonder  or  censure?  But  we  read  in 
scripture  of  a  Lamb  who  was  slain  from  the  foundation 
of  the  world,  and  of  grace  given  us  in  Christ  before  the 
12 


90  HttMAN  DEPRAVITY.  DISC.  III. 

world  began.  God  wa8  seized  with  no  ssiirprize  when 
He  found  Adam  taken  in  the  tempter's  snare ;  He 
foresaw  his  fall  before  He  created  him  ;  and  had  He  not 
had  a  gracious  purpose  concerning  him,  which  his  fall 
could  not  frustrate,  He  who  does  nothing  in  vain  would 
doubtless  have  spared  Himself  that  glorious  effort  of 
power  and  love,  which  gave  being  to  man,  and  to  such 
a  world  as  this  for  his  habitation.  In  foresight  of  the 
deed,  God  from  eternity  designed  that  the  trespass  of 
Adam,  instead  of  being  visited  by  a  stroke  which  would 
have  instantly  ended  his  earthly  existence  and  pre- 
cluded that  of  his  race,  should  be  the  occasion  of  intro- 
ducing a  scheme  of  mercy  whose  developments  and 
results  were  to  form  the  grand  materials  of  time's  diver- 
sified history,  and  of  eternity's  joy  and  praise.  That 
scheme  accordingly  was  then  introduced  :  and  hence  it 
was  that  Adam,  after  his  sentence  was  pronounced,  did 
not  find  himself  in  that  condition  of  hopeless  horror  to 
which  he  otherwise  would  have  been  reduced  by  the 
plenary  execution  of  his  Maker's  threat.  The  sen- 
tence on  the  fallen  pair  involved  many  evils,  but 
they  were  not  unmingled  with  blessings.  If  the  earth's 
increase  was  to  be  no  longer  spontaneous,  yet  it  was 
possible  to  be  secured  by  labour ;  and  if  sorrow  was  to 
be  the  precursor  of  a  posterity,  it  w^as  to  be  more  than 
compensated  by  joy  thence  to  arise :  for  though  that 
posterity  was  still  to  encounter  the  tempter's  subtlety, 
and  hence  to  sustain  partial  damage,  yet  the  announce- 
ment that  the  seed  of  the  woman  should  aveng-e  her 


DISC.  III.  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  91 

wrong,  by  bruising  the  serpent's  head,  intimated  the 
ultimate  triumph  of  human  nature,  and  faintly  sha- 
dowed forth  that  life  and  immortality,  that  amazing 
exaltation  of  mankind  in  an  eternal  state,  to  secure 
which  to  the  faithful,  was  the  end  of  Christ's  incarna- 
tion, death,  resurrection,  and  ascension  to  the  right  hand 
of  the  Majesty  on  high. 

Here  then  it  was — here,  between  the  descending  arm 
of  justice  and  the  person  of  rebelhous  man,  that  the 
grace  of  God  which  reigneth  through  righteousness, 
first  intervened  and  appeared.  Here  was  the  first  dis- 
closure of  that  mighty  proA-ision  of  eternal  wisdom  and 
love,  the  economy  concerning  which  embraces  the 
whole  of  revealed  religion.  And  what  deserves  the 
deepest  regard  of  all  thinking  men  who  would  not  be 
found,  in  their  reasonings  at  least,  among  the  enemies 
of  that  religion,  this  gracious  provision  of  the  gospel, 
even  in  this  earhest  revelation  of  it,  contemplated  not 
fallen  Adam,  but  fallen  man,  God  told  the  serpent 
that  he  would  put  enmity,  not  only  between  him  and 
the  woman,  but  also  between  his  seed  and  her  seed ; 
and  it  was  the  woman's  posterity,  most  eminently  but 
not  exclusively,  in  Christ,  that  was  to  have  the  triumph 
over  that  malignant  adversary.  All  subsequent  exhi- 
bitions of  this  provision  present  it  as  having  the  same 
universal  reference  and  applicableness  to  the  race. 
Who  that  beUeves  the  gospel  can  doubt  that  the  re- 
demption wliich  is  in  Christ  was  designed  for  no  one 
generation,  age,  or  nation  of  men,  but  for  the  human 


92  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  DISC.  III. 

kind,  through  all  generations,  ages,  and  nations,  till  time 
should  be  no  longer?  Why  was  the  gospel  to  be 
preached  to  every  creature,  through  all  coming  times,  till 
the  end  of  the  world?  Why  must  one  generation 
teach  it  to  another,  we  to  our  children,  they  to  theirs, 
and  so  on  till  men  shall  cease  to  be  born  ?  Manifestly 
the  provision  of  the  gospel,  first  disclosed  in  Eden 
on  the  day  when  Adam  fell,  looked  to  the  consum- 
mation of  all  things,  and  regarded  every  descendant 
of  Adam  as  needing  its  grace  no  less  than  Adam 
himself.  Now  it  is  unquestionable,  that,  in  thus  adapt- 
ing itself  to  all  the  unborn  offspring  of  Adam,  the  gospel 
provision  assumed  that  mankind  were  in  the  divine 
view  as  really  fallen  and  sinful  as  their  progenitor. 
Though  not  yet  in  being,  they  were  in  their  Maker's 
sight  a  depraved  and  perishing  race,  needing  His  mercy 
as  much  as  did  their  first  father  when  he  stood  before 
Him,  the  trembling  expectant  of  the  stroke  of  death. 
For  otherwise  how  unsuitable  had  the  provision  of  the 
gospel  (a  provision  only  for  ruined  sinners)  been  for 
them ! 

Before  1  advance  to  the  immediate  object  of  this  dis- 
course, which  embraces  a  statement  and  defence 
OP  the  divine  constitution  in  this  particular, 
let  me  bring  the  fact  into  distinct  notice,  that  the  moral 
history  of  mankind,  as  far  back  as  it  can  be  traced,  is 
the  history  of  a  race  of  sinners.  No  reasoning  will  be 
held  with  him  who  would  bring  this  fact  into  contro- 
versy.    Judging  mankind  by  the  lowest  standard  of 


DISC.  III.  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  93 

virtue  any  where  or  at  any  time  received,  a  sentence  of 
condemnation  must  go  forth  against  them.  Men  who 
having  not  the  law  are  a  law  unto  themselves,  have 
brought  in  decisive  verdicts  against  one  another.  The 
feeble  sense  of  right  and  wrong,  which  the  light  of 
nature  aided  by  traditional  revelation,  kept  alive  in  their 
hearts,  has  been  sufficient  to  ascertain  and  condemn 
their  wickedness,  its  proofs  having  always  been  so  fla- 
grant. That  they  have  received  the  christian  doctrine 
of  original  depravity  in  its  full  latitude,  is  not  affirmed  ; 
but  many  exphcit  testimonies,  besides  their  fiction  of  a 
golden  age,  assure  us  that  they  have  not  been  of  the 
opinion  that  the  primitive  and  the  present  states  of 
mankind  are  the  same.  It  is  remarked  by  one  of  their 
own  poets,  that  no  man  is  born  without  the  seeds  of 
moral  evil,  and  that  tlie  best  man  is  he  who  has  the 
fewest ;  and  if  the  glimmering  ray  of  nature  could  pi-o- 
duce  conviction  of  that  truth,  how  lively  should  be  our 
sense  of  it,  under  the  teachings  of  inspiration.  How 
the  scripture  testifies  to  the  wickedness  of  mankind, 
discerning  pure  wickedness  in  every  moral  action  of 
unrenewed  man,  without  a  solitary  exception  since  the 
fall,  no  well  instructed  person  can  he  supposed  ignorant. 
Nor  is  it  possible  that  a  mind  duly  enlightened  into  the 
nature  of  the  law  of  God  should  dissent  from  the  testi- 
mony of  scripture,  after  comparing  human  conduct 
with  that  infallible  standard. 

Now   here   is    a   fact,    the    evidence   of    which   is 
inwrought  into  the  moral  feehngs  and  conduct  of  every 


94  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  DISC.  III. 

living  man,  and  fills  the  records  of  all  past  time ;  it  is 
a  fact  plain  and  certain  as  that  we  have  a  real  exist- 
ence—that mankind,  universally  and  from  the  begin- 
ning of  moral  life,  are  a  race  of  sinners  ;  and  if  reason 
now  considers  it  a  disowning  of  her  empire  to  make 
facts  give  way  to  one's  clashing  preconceptions,  let  us 
take  heed  lest  we  incur  the  reproach  of  absurdity  by 
pursuing  that  exploded  course  in  regard  to  the  present 
subject. 

Previous  to  all  inquiry  into  the  ground  or  occasion  of 
this  universal  depravation  of  our  race,  it  is  surely  a  wel- 
come recollection  to  every  mind  susceptive  of  pious  gra- 
titude, that  God,  foreseeing  that  it  would  be  so  with 
Adam's  descendants,  disclosed  in  Eden  a  scheme  of 
mercy,  not  designed  for  Adam  only,  but  for  all  his  un- 
born sons  and  daughters,  who,  in  point  of  fact,  would 
need  it,  every  one  as  much  as  their  fallen  sire.  For 
why  should  a  knowledge  of  the  reason  of  this  fact  be 
deemed  indispensable  to  the  acceptance  of  that  gracious 
scheme  ?  Finding  ourselves  most  fearfully  enthralled, 
shall  we  wait  to  discover  exactly  how  our  thraldom  be- 
fel  us,  before  we  can  be  willing  to  avail  ourselves  of  an 
escape  from  it  ?  If  a  man  would  not  wait  in  his  bed, 
amidst  flames,  because  he  knew  not  the  cause  of  his 
peril,  when  a  door  was  open  before  him,  through  which 
he  might  fly  and  be  safe — if  a  drowning  man  would 
not  delay  to  seize  a  hand  kindly  stretched  out  for  his 
rescue,  until  he  had  ascertained  how  he  came  to  be 
drowning ;  no  more  need  miserable  men  wait  to  know 


DISC.  III.  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  95 

how  they  should  all  have  become  sinners  ;  pei-sisting 
in  rebellion  against  their  Maker,  who  reaches  down  an 
arm  to  them  out  of  heaven,  by  laying  hold  on  which 
they  may  be  dehvered  from  all  evil. 

But  to  those  who,  having  availed  themselves  of 
Heaven's  proffered  help,  are  rescued  from  the  frightful 
abyss  in  which  the  ungodly  world  are  perishing,  it  is 
not  unlawful  to  institute  the  inquiry  to  which  we  have 
referred,  nor  to  such  persons  will  the  inquiry  be  unsuc- 
cessful or  difficult.  The  language  of  scripture  on  this 
subject  is  exphcit.  St.  Paul  accounts  for  man's  univer- 
sal degeneracy  in  this  manner :  When  God  placed 
Adam  in  paradise,  under  trial,  as  certified  by  Moses, 
having  determined  that  he  should  have  a  posterity,  de- 
termined further  that  his  trial  should  decide  what 
w^ould  be  the  original  moral  character  and  state  of 
all  his  descendants :  whence  it  resulted  that  Adam 
having  fallen,  the  trespass  which  cast  him  from  his 
first  estate  involved  in  the  train  of  its  consequences  that 
degradation  and  death  to  which  we  are  all  subjected. 
And  if  events  may  be  taken  as  interpreters  of  God's 
sentence  against  Adam,  it  was  a  sentence  as  much 
against  his  race  as  against  him.  They,  like  him,  have 
to  till  an  accursed  soil,  and  to  procure  their  bread  by 
the  sweat  of  their  face.  Like  him,  they  retvmi  to  the 
dust,  after  having  experienced  similar  sorrows  and 
trials.  And  finally,  as  Adam,  w^hen  he  became  a  sin- 
ner, became  obnoxious  to  a  sentence  which,  if  executed, 
would  have  sunk  him  to  endless  wo,  so  his  posterity 
being  born  in  sin,  are  by  nature  children  of  wrath,  and 


96  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  DISC.  III. 

subject  to  the  same  sentence  of  terrible  condemnation  : 
such  resemblances  do  exist  l^etwecn  the  sire  and  his  off- 
spring, and  scripture  accounts  for  them  in  the  manner 
before  stated. 

The  passage  of  scripture  which  contains  this  ac- 
count was  read  at  the  beginning.*  Not  to  enter  largely 
into  the  consideration  of  this  passage,  let  me  now  just 
call  your  attention  to  the  single  point  in  which  every  sen- 
tence and  syllable  of  it  meets,  namely,  that  there  was 
such  a  connexion  between  Adam  and  all  mankind, 
that  his  violation  of  the  sacred  tree  determined  what 
should  be  their  character  and  condition  no  less  than  his 
own.  What  mean  the  following  expressions  if  not  this 
at  least,  that  there  was  such  a  connexion  between  Adam 
and  his  posterity  ?  "  By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the 
world,  and  death  by  sin,  and  so  death  passed  upon  all 
men  for  that  all  have  sinned."  "  If  through  the  offence 
of  one  many  ])e  dead."  "  The  judgment  was  by  one  to 
condemnation."  "  By  the  offence  of  one  judgment 
came  upon  all  men  to  condemnation."  "  By  one  man's 
disobedience  many  were  made  sinners."  In  what  terms 
could  the  idea  be  more  perfectly  expressed  that  Adam's 
first  sin  was  not  in  its  consequences  hmited  to  himself, 
but  reached  to  the  remotest  generations  of  his  descend- 
ants ?  These  expressions  do  not  to  my  mind  explain 
the  theory  of  the  connexion  between  Adam's  sin  and 
the  ruin  of  his  posterity  ;  but  no  language  could  more 
clearly  assert  the  connexion.     Of  the  philosophy  of  this 

♦  Rom.  V.  13— 21 


DISC.  III.  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  97 

matter,  whether  they  who  speak  Avith  great  confidence, 
speak  with  equal  wisdom  or  convincingness,  is  ques- 
tioned. The  particles  by  and  through  here  used  by 
the  apostle,  ascertain  the  fact  that  we  become  sinful 
through  Adam's  disobedience ;  but  that  any  doctrine 
as  to  mode  is  clearly  involved  in  these  particulars,  or  is 
elsewhere  taught  in  scripture  as  the  certain  and  sole 
truth  on  this  subject,  let  another  tongue  than  mine  de- 
clare. 

And  now  in  proceeding  to  the  defence  of  the  divine 
arrangement  in  this  high  case,  as  above  set  forth,  it 
may  be  useful  to  premise,  that  the  course  of  things 
here  as  far  at  least  as  it  relates  to  observable  facts, 
was  but  analogous  to  what  has  been  the  general  course 
of  things  among  mankind  ever  since.  That  there 
was  no  pecuharity  in  the  manner  in  which  Adam's 
trespass  transmitted  its  influences  of  depravity  and 
death,  is  by  no  means  afl[irmed ;  but  the  fact  of  trans- 
gression ought  not  to  surprise  us.  How  little  sin  is  com- 
mitted in  this  world,  that  affects  none  but  its  author  ? 
Have  not  entire  nations  been  depraved  and  ruined  by 
the  iniquity  of  one  man  ?  Does  not  one  generation  of 
men  give  character  and  destiny  to  generations  that  fol- 
low 1  Who  has  not  seen  the  dark  print  of  a  parent's 
misdeed  on  the  front  of  his  children?  When  the 
intemperate  man  hfts  the  bowl  to  his  own  lips,  he  puts 
it  also,  in  effect,  into  the  hands  of  his  family.  When 
the  murderer  executes  his  fell  purpose,  does  he  not 
bring  a  stain  upon  his  household  which  years  cannot 
13 


98  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY. 


DISC,  III. 


efface?     And  may  I  not  refer  you  to  yourselves  for 
illustrations  of  our  principle  ?     Have  none  of  you  suf- 
fered from  the  want  of  viitue  or  piety  in  your  parents  ? 
And  are  not  your  children  suffering,  and  will  they  not 
yet  suffer,  from  the  same  cause  in  yourselves  ?     When 
you  use  profane  speech,  or  break  the  sabbath,  or  indulge 
your  angry  passions,  or  neglect  the  family  altar,  these 
offences,  so  far  from  terminating  in  yourselves,  have 
already  perhaps  made  a  ruinous  invasion  upon  the  souls 
of  your  offspring,  and  may  be  working  them  harm 
when  you  are  mouldering  in  your  grave.     Assuredly 
we  are  no  strangers  to  other  exemplifications  of  the 
far-reaching,  deadly  tendencies  of  sin,  Ijesides  that  of 
the  first  sin  of  Adam.     All  sin  violates  relations,  and 
so  passes  over  to  those  who,  by  those  relations,  are  con- 
nected to  its  author ;  and  working  through  them,  may 
spread  havoc  in  every  course,  and  over  an  unmeasura- 
ble  tract,  and  may  be  multiplying  its  mischiefs  through 
all  time  and  eternity.     And  I  cannot  forbear  the  remark 
that  the  impression  which  we  should  take  from  this 
tremendous  truth,  as  illustrated  in  that  most  signal  of 
all  instances,  the  first  sin  of  Adam,  is  any  thing  rather 
than  a  railing  or  a  contentious  disposition.     The  moral 
history  of  our  world,  the  actual  moral  state  of  man, 
demands  of  us  rather  that  we  fall  down  in  view  of  it, 
before  the  mercy  seat  of  God,  crying  with  deep  humi- 
lity and  sorrow  for  his  infinite  pity.     He  would  but 
show  madness  who  should  insist  that  there  was  no  sun 
in  the  heavens,  and  no  creatures  on  the  earth  ;  but  that 


DISC.   III.  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  99 

there  is  a  sun,  and  that  there  are  creatures  who  rejoice 
under  his  cheering  rays,  is  not  at  all  more  certain  than 
that  sin  and  death  have  their  seat  in  every  family  and 
every  breast  on  this  globe :  and  when  the  scripture, 
which  alone  gives  any  probable  account  of  this  fact, 
refers  it  to  the  sin  of  Adam  in  touching  the  forbidden 
fruit,  what  we  see,  wliat  we  hear,  what  we  feel,  what  we 
know  must  soon  come  to  pass  in  respect  to  each  of  us, 
should  restrain  murmuring,  and  overwhelm  us  with  the 
power  of  this  one  sentiment,  that  it  is  an  exceedingly 
evil  and  bitter  thing  to  sin  against  God.  What  avails 
it  to  indulge  an  unsubmissive  temper  towards  this  awful 
subject  ?  Can  you  by  this  means  cure  the  bad  propen- 
sities of  your  heart,  and  array  yourself  in  the  love- 
liness of  a  sinless  character  7  Or  can  you  raise  thus 
such  a  rampart  about  your  person,  family,  or  property, 
that  no  afflictive  visitation  of  Providence  shall  ever 
more  annoy  you  ?  Or  extract  that  poison  from  youi' 
frame  which  is  now  working  its  dissolution  ?  Or  dis- 
arm conscience  of  her  compunctious  sting  7  Or  quench 
the  fires  of  perdition  ?  How  raving  and  pitiable  were 
the  conduct  of  a  condemned  culprit,  who,  chained  in  a 
dungeon  till  the  appointed  day  of  death,  should  pass 
the  time  in  uttering  imprecations  against  the  builder  ol" 
his  prison,  and  the  court  that  sentenced  him. 

Nor  is  the  mere  impotence  and  inutility  of  such  a 
spirit  the  only  ground  of  its  condemnation.  It  is  on 
other  accounts  an  unreasonable  and  guilty  spirit ;  as 
the  sequel  of  this  discourse  will  perhaps    more  fully 


100  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  DISC.  Ill, 

disclose.  But  if  nothing  more  could  be  said  on  our 
Maker's  behalf,  than  that  He  has  given  us  no  cause  of 
complaint,  we  should  lay  our  hand  upon  our  mouth 
before  him,  whatever  were  the  doom  that  awaited  us. 
And  that  God  has  not  done  this,  the  perfection  of  His 
nature  is  higher  reason  for  believing,  than  any  con- 
ceivable evidence  could  be,  for  beheving  the  contrary. 
Let  God  be  justified  when  He  speaketh,  and  clear  when 
He  judgeth,  though  all  men  and  angels  should  have 
spoken  and  judged  differently.  But  does  the  judgment 
of  God  stand  alone  in  this  case  ?  That  judgment  is 
against  sin  ;  and  sin  reigns  over  man  ;  and  ought  not 
man  to  accept  the  punishment  of  his  iniquity  J  There 
is  really  an  evil  in  sin  ;  something  which  ought  not  to 
be ;  something  which  deserves  blame.  Sin,  on  every 
hypothesis  as  to  its  origin  in  the  universe,  is,  in  its  own 
nature,  wrong  and  inexcusable.  He  who  commits  it, 
does  wrong,  acts  unlawfully ;  and  we  ourselves,  pol- 
luted and  lost  to  virtue  as  we  are,  cannot  avoid  some 
consciousness  of  its  evil  nature.  Hoav  then  must  it  ap- 
pear to  that  Eye  which  discerns  impurity  in  the  stars  ? 
Shall  God  be  less  the  enemy  of  sin  than  the  human 
conscience  ?  Shall  He  not  be  opposed  to  it  in  its  germ 
and  seeds,  and  manifest  the  brightness  of  His  purity,  by 
passing  against  its  authors  a  sentence  of  terrible  con- 
demnation ?  Does  it  not  magnify  the  excellency  of 
God,  that  foreseeing  we  would  all  be  sinners  from  the 
womb.  He  expressed  beforehand  His  abhorrence  of  our 
race  by  a  condemnatory  judgment  ? 


DISC.   III.  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  101 

But  still  the  inquiry  presses  itself  on  our  thoughts, 
and  we  cannot  avoid  it,  nor  should  we — why  did  a 
Being  of  infinite  benevolence  and  wisdom  suffer  a  race 
of  creatures  to  arise,  under  such  a  constitution,  that  they 
would  invariably  and  universally  abuse  their  powers 
and  incur  His  displeasure  ?  And  while  it  is  certain  that 
there  is  nothing  in  this  constitution,  of  which  they  have 
reason  to  complain,  and  that  no  imputation  had  rested  on 
God^s  justice,  if  here  had  ended  His  dealings  towards  man, 
and  we  had  all  been  left  under  hopeless  condemnation  ; 
I  cannot  say  that  such  a  termination  of  things  would,  to 
my  apprehension,  have  been  consistent  with  the  whole 
c/ia?'ac^er  ascribed  to  God,  by  both  revelation  and  reason. 
I  can  read  God's  infinite  abhorrence  of  sin,  and  love  of 
righteousness,  in  this  part  of  his  plan ;  but  unless  I 
extend  my  view  further,  I  can  see  no  trace  of  infinite 
benevolence  or  wisdom  :  and  since  the  expression  of  His 
hatred  of  sin  is  in  the  sufferings  of  creatures,  in  which 
He  avers  upon  His  oath  that  He  has  no  dehght,  it  seems 
unlawful  to  suppose  that  He  would  have  entered  upon 
a  course  of  measures,  which  had  their  sufferings  as  its 
ultimate  end.  While  therefore  we  justify  this  righteous 
doing  of  the  Lord,  confessing  that  He  has  done  what 
became  Him,  we  must  by  no  means  regard  this  as  an 
isolated,  disconnected  proceeding,  terminating  in  itself ; 
but  rather  as  part  of  a  glorious  system  of  measures, 
worthy  of  the  whole  perfection  of  the  Deity.  However 
just  it  would  have  been  to  have  left  Adam's  posterity, 
with  himself,  hopelessly  involved  in  the  consequences  of 


102  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  DISC.  111. 

his  lapse,  is  it  supposable  lliat  it  would  have  become  the 
entire  glory  of  the  Divine  Being,  to  have  formed  the 
earth  and  created  man  upon  it,  and  permitted  the  race 
to  be  ruined  so  shortly  after  creation's  birth,  if  their 
ruin  had  been  the  last  efid  of  His  scheme  of  opera- 
tions ?  Would  not  His  boundless  benevolence,  foresee- 
ing as  He  did  the  end  from  the  beginning,  have  in- 
clined Him,  not  to  create,  but  to  abstain  from  creating, 
a  world,  if  here  had  been  the  limit  and  final  result  of 
His  plan  ?  Is  it  not,  therefore,  a  most  innighteous  thing, 
thus  to  judge  of  God's  character,  by  one  act  of  His  go- 
vernment, considered  without  reference  either  to  ante- 
cedent or  subsequent  measures  ?  What  architect  would 
not  deem  himself  wronged,  if  his  ingenuity  and  skill 
should  be  estimated  from  a  detached  part  of  a  most 
comphcated  and  profound  piece  of  workmanship  ?  In 
this  way  of  judging,  things  are  apt  to  be  pronounced 
against,  which,  considered  in  their  relations  to  other 
things,  evince  the  deepest  penetration  and  wisdom. 
And  shall  we  adopt  this  mode  of  judging,  in  regard  to 
the  ways  of  the  Almighty  ?  When  He  began  his  ope- 
rations, He  had  a  scheme  of  action  before  Him,  too  ex- 
tended and  vast  to  be  comprehended  by  any  other  mind 
than  His  own.  On  the  fulfilment  of  that  entire  scheme, 
not  of  any  one  single  part  of  it,  does  He  depend,  so  to 
speak,  for  the  discovery  of  His  perfection.  The  scrip- 
ture, reminding  us  that  we  now  know  only  in  part, 
counsels  us  to  judge  nothing  before  the  time,  but  wait 
till  the  mystery  of  God  be  finished.    The  precipitancy, 


DISC.  III.  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  103 

which,  in  opposition  to  this  advice,  not  only  refuses  to 
wait,  but  will  not  take  into  view  the  whole  of  what  has 
been  done — which  grounds  a  sentence  of  condemnation 
on  one  detached  measure,  a  measure  which  would  never 
have  been  entered  upon,  but  for  the  sake  of  what  was 
and  is  to  follow— such  rashness  it  is,  that  leads  men  to 
raise  their  objections  to  the  providence  and  ways  of 
God  :  of  which  a  thousand  exemplifications  might  be 
mentioned,  but  none  more  unequivocal  than  that  con- 
nected with  our  present  subject. 

For  when  God  so  ordered  things  that  Adam's  diso- 
bedience should  be  the  occasion  of  Ms  posterity's  diso- 
bedience and  condemnation  also,  did  he  there  stay  his 
ordering  hand  ?  Was  nothing  done  toward  mankind 
but  just  to  condemn  them  ?  Then  God  had  shown 
indeed  his  severity^  but  the  glory  of  his  goodness  had 
not  appeared.  But  find  we  nothing  else  revealed  in 
the  scriptures  concerning  this  subject  1  Have  we  not 
read  that  the  second  Adam  appeared  to  undo  the  mis- 
chief perpetrated  by  the  first ;  that  the  Son  of  man 
came  to  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil ;  that  his  er- 
rand into  this  world  who  travailed  and  prayed  in  the 
garden  of  Gethsemanc,  was  to  counteract  the  evils  let 
into  the  same  world  by  that  man's'  disobedience  who 
dwelt  in  the  garden  of  Eden  ?  Nay,  not  only  was  the 
second  Adam  a  restorer  of  that  which  the  first  took 
away,  but  scripture  has  clearly  sounded  in  our  ear  the 
most  joyful  intelUgence,  that  he  bestows  inconceivably 
more  than  was  lost.     What  music  of  heaven  would  be 


104  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  DISC.  III. 

sweeter  to  vis  than  these  inspired  testimonies  of  the 
Apostle  ?  "  As  by  the  ofience  of  one,  judgment  came 
upon  all  men  to  condenmation,  even  so,  by  the  right- 
eousness of  one,  the  free  gift  came  upon  all  men  unto 
justification  of  life."*  "  As  by  one  man's  disobedience 
many  were  made  sinners,  so  by  the  obedience  of  one 
shall  many  lie  made  righteous."  Here  is  restoration  : 
the  scales  are  now  in  equipoise,  but  they  do  not  remain 
so  ;  that  scale  goes  down  which  contains  the  blessings 
brought  in  by  Christ.  "  For  if  through  the  offence  of 
one  many  be  dead,  much  more  the  grace  of  God,  and 
the  gift  by  grace  which  is  by  one  man,  Jesus  Christy 
hath  abounded  unto  many."  Moreover,  the  law  entered 
that  the  offence  might  abound  ;  but  where  sin  abounded 
grace  did  much  more  aljound.  That  as  sin  hath 
reigned  unto  death,  even  so  might  grace  reign  through 
righteousness  unto  eternal  hfe,  by  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord."  Have  those  who  complain  that  mankind  are 
brought  into  being  under  a  hard  and  undesirable  consti- 
tution, duly  considered  this  divine  comparison  between 
what  was  done  against  us  by  the  first  Adam  and  what 
has  been  done  for  us  by  the  second  ?  or  is  my  own  mind 
bewildered  with  an  unwarranted  joy,  while,  with  this 


*  Calvin's  comment  on  this  text:  "  Communem  omnium  gratiam  facit  quia 
omnibus  exposita  est,  non  quod  ad  omnes  extendatur,  re  ipsa:  Nam  etsi 
passus  est  Christus  pro  peccatis  totius  mundi,  atque  omnibus  indifferenter 
Dei  benignitate,  offertur,  non  tamen  omnes  apprehendent."  He  makes  this  the 
common  grace  of  ail,  because  it  is  set  belore  all,  not  that  all  are  in  fact  put  in 
possession  of  it.  For  though  Christ  died  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world,  and 
he  is  by  the  mercy  of  God  offered  alike  to  all,  yet  all  do  not  embrace  him." 
Calvin  expresses  the  same  views  on  this  subject  in  his  comments  on  Mat. 
xxvi.  8. 1  Cor.  viii.  11,  12.  1  John  ii.  2.  2  Pet.  ii.  1.  and  Jude  4. 


DISC.  III.  HUMAN  DEPRAVITT.  10.5 

comparison  in  my  view,  I  praise  my  Maker  that  He  has 
given  me  existence  under  a  constitution  which  His  word 
assures  me  is  not  only  equal  in  advantages,  but  greatly 
preferable  to  that  which  was  violated  by  Adam  ?  What 
if  sin  has  abounded  in  consequence  of  that  violation ; 
since  grace  has  not  only  equally,  but  7nuch  more 
abounded?  What  if  sin  has  reigned  over  us  unto 
death  ;  since  grace,  unless  we  prove  incorrigibly  rebel- 
lious, shall  also  reign  over  us  unto  eternal  life,  by  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord  ?  Disadvantages  there  are  under  the 
present  constitution  ;  but  they  are  more  than  coiuiter- 
balanced  (how  much  more  who  can  estimate  ?)  by  its 
advantages. 

So  speaks  inspiration  to  him  who  has  an  ear  to  hear ; 
and  joyous  are  the  feelings  which  that  sweet  voice  hath 
awakened  in  many  a  breast,  once  agitated  with  various 
guilty  objections  to  the  goodness  of  the  divine  conduct 
towards  man,  after  the  fall  of  Adam.  Confining  their 
thought  to  that  part  of  the  present  constitution  which 
ascertains  that  all  mankind  will  commence  sinners  as 
soon  as  they  commence  moral  existence ;  regarding  very 
heedfuUy  the  ills  and  disadv'antages  consequent  to  the 
race,  upon  their  progenitor's  crime ;  but  not  taking  into 
their  view  that  bright  and  blissful  scene  of  superabound- 
ing  grace,  which  but  for  those  disadvantages  could 
never  have  been  spread  out  before  the  eye  of  crea- 
tures— as  the  beauties  of  a  landscape  could  never  have 
arisen  into  view  under  the  artist's  pencil,  but  by  means 
of  the  shading — committing  this  inexcusable  error, 
14 


106  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  DISC.  III. 

they  could  liarely  submit  to  that  which  afterwards, 
when  better  understood,  commanded  their  affectionate 
wonder  and  most  ardent  praise. 

Though  it  belongs  not  to  shiful  lips  to  add  one  sub- 
stantial truth  to  what  the  Holy  Spirit  has  dehvered  on 
this  subject,  yet  may  we  not  have  liberty  to  dilate  a  ht- 
tle  some  of  those  things  which  He  has  presented  to  us 
in  a  condensed,  brief  form,  on  purpose,  it  would  seem, 
that  we  might  have  reason  and  encouragement  to  em- 
ploy our  own  meditations  upon  them  ? 

Such  then  is  the  constitution  under  which  we  re- 
ceive rational  existence,  that  the  first  exercise  of  our 
faculties  is  sinful,  and  a  consciousness  of  guilt,  more  or 
less  distinct,  pervades  the  whole  of  our  conscious  life- 
time, and  the  original  disorder  of  our  natures  growing- 
worse  the  longer  it  remains,  we  are  liable  to  the  most 
sad  enthralment  of  sin — the  dominion  of  vicious  pro- 
pensities, raging  passions,  confirmed  bad  habits,  and 
ungodly  customs.  But  though  God  surely  is  not  an- 
swerable for  these  deplorable  perversions  of  His  work- 
manship, yet  has  He  made  an  all-sufficient  provision 
against  them  ;  and  over  our  great  wickedness  how 
gloriously  triumphant  is  His  sovereign  goodness? 
The  constitution  we  are  born  under,  acertains  our 
universal  sinfulness  ;  but  does  it  not  also  present  to  us 
the  Lamb  of  God,  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world,  whose  blood  cleanseth  from  sin,  and  from  access 
to  whose  sin-atoning  blood,  God  restrains  no  creature 
under  heaven  ?     And  does  it  not  also  instruct  us  how 


DISC.  III.  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  107 

the  Spirit  of  God  doth  strive  with  man,  and  propose  to 
enter  and  occupy  every  wiUing  heart  ?  Breathes  there 
a  child  of  Adam,  however  unworthy  and  guilty,  unto 
whom  the  High  and  Lofty  One  doth  not  wait  to  be 
gracious  ? 

And  let  it  be  borne  in  mind,  that  it  is  not  merely  the 
recovery  of  man  from  the  guilt  and  pollution  of  sin 
that  God  aims  to  effect  under  this  part  of  His  constitu- 
tion. It  is  not  to  reinstate  us  into  Adam's  primitive 
condition,  and  establish  us  under  the  constitution  from 
Avhich  he  fell — this  is  not  what  the  second  Adam  came 
to  do  for  the  apostate  offspring  of  the  first ;  but  some- 
thing as  far  higher  as  heaven  is  higher  than  the  earth. 
We  know  not  with  certainty  what  would  have  been 
our  state  if  the  trespass  of  Eden  had  not  been  commit- 
ted, Adam  and  Eve,  while  holy,  were  doubtless  stran- 
gers to  unhappiness,  and  had  free  access  to  all  the 
sources  of  joy  that  an  earthly  paradise  could  afford ; 
and  it  is  presumable  that  had  they  never  sinned  they 
would  never  have  been  in  less  desirable  circumstances. 
That  their  circumstances  would  have  been  better,  we 
know  not.  Scripture  is  quite  silent  as  to  what  would 
have  been  their  ultimate  condition  ;  and  equally  silent 
in  regard  to  what,  in  that  case,  would  have  been  the 
ultimate  condition  of  their  posterity.  This  however  we 
may  boldly  say,  that  their  prospects  of  bliss  were  not 
brighter  than  those  of  their  progenitors  :  Their  expecta- 
tion could  not,  on  the  ground  of  any  promise  revealed 


108  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  DISC.  III. 

to  US,  have  extended  beyond  the  dehghts  and  fehcities 
of  the  garden  of  Eden. 

But  what  were  these  compared  to  that  hfe  and  im- 
mortahty,  that  undefiled  and  incorruptible  inheritance 
that  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory, 
which  is  held  out  to  mankind  by  the  constitution  they 
live  under  ?  Adam  dwelt  on  a  beautiful  spot  of  earth, 
where  grew  every  tree  that  was  good  for  food  and 
pleasant  to  the  sight,  and  a  river  running  through  it 
kept  it  ever  fresh  and  fertile :  But  we  may  have  our 
dwelling  in  a  paradise  above  the  sky,  and  drink  of  the 
river  of  the  water  of  life  which  proceedeth  from  the 
throne  of  God  and  the  Lamlj.  Adam  had  communion 
with  God,  and  perhaps  occasional  visits  of  angels  ;  but 
we  may  become  angels'  equals  and  companions,  may 
have  angels  for  our  servants  ;  nay  more,  be  associated, 
imited,  and  in  a  manner  identified,  with  the  Lord  of 
angels.  For  let  us  not  forget  that  the  Son  of  God  has 
already  taken  our  nature  into  union  with  His  own ; 
that  humanity  is  now  sitting  upon  the  throne  of  hea- 
ven ;  that  true  believers  are  so  nearly  related  to  Christ 
that  they  are  called  His  body ;  that  they  are  to  be  with 
Christ  where  He  is ;  that  they  are  all  to  be  one,  as  the 
Father  is  in  Christ,  and  Christ  in  the  Father,  so  they 
also  are  to  be  one  in  Them  ;  that  they  are  to  share  the 
glory  which  the  Father  hath  given  to  the  Son  ;  to  be 
heirs  of  God  and  joint  heirs  with  Christ,  and  to  reign 
forever  and  ever.  Such  is  the  blessedness  which  God 
tenders  to  mankind  under  the  present  constitution ; 


DISC.  III.  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  109 

compared  to  which,  that  which  Adam  had,  or  had  rea- 
son to  expect,  deserves  no  remembrance. — Nor  is  it  on 
any  hard  condition  that  this  blessedness  is  promised ; 
not  on  the  condition  of  sinless  obedience,  but  simple 
faith  in  Christ.  Faith,  as  a  grain  of  mustard  seed,  ex- 
pressed in  one  sincere  petition,  will  have  nothing  less 
than  all  this  blessedness  for  its  reward.  For  that  faith 
once  exercised,  God  becomes  gracious  to  its  subject,  im- 
putes not  his  sins,  leaves  him  not  in  temptation,  works 
in  him  holy  affections,  and  keeps  him  by  his  power 
through  faith  unto  salvation  :  Easier  or  more  generous 
terms  could  not  have  been  prescribed  :  to  dispense  with 
or  diminish  ought  from  these  terms,  were  to  patronise 
sin. 

And  as  to  the  unavoidable  evils  which  take  place 
under  the  present  constitution,  we  may  easily  reconcile 
ourselves  to  these,  by  duly  attending  to  the  two  follow- 
ing considerations.  In  the  first  place,  all  these  natural 
evils  are  as  nothing  compared  to  the  natural  good 
which  God  bestows.  I  make  this  assertion,  not  forget- 
ting that  customary  declamation  represents  the  earth 
as  though  it  brought  forth  thorns  and  thistles,  and  very 
httle  else — that  it  fills  the  world  with  groans  and  tears, 
leaving  little  or  no  room  for  different  sorts  of  things. 
But  however  tolerable  such  discourse  may  be,  taken  as 
rhetorical  hyperbole,  nothing  is  more  unjust,  considered 
in  the  light  of  sober  statement.  No  account  is  to  be 
taken  of  the  self-inflicted  miseries  of  mankind  ;  for  God 
surely  is  not  to  be  blamed  for  evils  which  men  bring 


ill)  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  DISC.  III. 

upon  themselves  by  indulging  their  passions  and  appe- 
tites, in  contempt  of  His  authority,  in  perversion  of  His 
order,  and  in  wanton  abuse  of  His  goodness.  We  are 
to  consider  only  such  evils  as  are  inevitably  incidental 
to  our  state,  as  appointed  to  us  by  the  will  of  God  ;  and 
in  this  view  we  affirm  that  the  good  of  it  immensely 
surpasses  the  evil.  There  are  fewer  thorns  and  this- 
tles in  this  world,  than  fruit-trees,  and  fields  of  golden 
wheat,  and  luxuriant  vineyards  and  olive  yards  and 
gardens — not  less  proofs  of  the  divine  goodness  because 
the  product,  in  a  sense,  of  the  industry  of  man.  And 
in  the  world  of  animal  life  there  are,  perhaps,  a  thou- 
sand feelings  of  delight,  where  is  one  of  pain.  "  The 
air,  the  earth,  the  water,"  it  has  been  truly  said,  "  teem 
with  delighted  existence.  In  a  spring  noon,  or  a  sum- 
mer evening,  on  whichever  side  I  turn  my  eyes,  my- 
riads of  happy  beings  crowd  upon  my  view.  '  The 
insect  youth  are  on  the  wing.'  Swarms  of  new  born 
flies  are  trying  their  powers  in  the  air.  Their  sportive 
motions,  their  wanton  mazes,  their  gratuitous  activity, 
their  continual  change  of  place  without  use  or  purpose, 
testify  the  joy  and  the  exultation  which  they  feel  in 
their  newly  discovered  faculties."  The  larger  animals 
also,  as  they  sing  among  the  branches,  or  soar  toward 
heaven,  or  feed  together  and  rejoice  in  their  common 
pasture,  have  great  seeming  delight  in  existence.  And 
as  to  the  human  family,  sinful  as  we  are,  when  we 
compare  our  years  of  health  and  enjoyment  with  our 
days  of  pain  and  sickness,  must  we  judge  that  there  is 


DISC.  III.  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  Ill 

little  else  but  wretchedness  in  the  physical  life  of  man '! 
And  what  if  death  stand  in  the  rear  of  all  our  gratifi- 
cations ?  Death  to  the  inferior  creatures  is  but  the  pang 
of  a  moment ;  and  if  it  be  any  thing  more  to  us — nay, 
if  it  be  not  the  crown  of  our  temporal  blessings, 
the  brightest  event  in  our  earthly  existence,  the  fault  is 
a  voluntary  one  of  our  own :  For  the  constitution  wo 
are  under  brings  within  our  reach  an  antidote  of  death ; 
presents  the  monster  without  his  sting  ;  nay,  changed 
into  an  angel  of  peace — a  convoy  and  guide  to  heaven. 
But  there  is  another  view  to  he  taken  of  these  natu- 
ral evils,  in  which  they  appear  matter  of  thankfulness. 
If  the  present  were  the  only  Ufe  given  us  to  expect  un- 
der the  existing  constitution,  even  then  these  evils  were 
not  without  concomitant  or  consequent  advantages :  For 
sickness  sometimes  issues  in  better  health  than  it  dis- 
places ;  and  the  loss  of  property  often  calls  faculties 
into  exercise,  which  would  otherwise  have  been  unem- 
ployed ;  and  the  best  specimens  of  excellence  among 
men,  are  formed  by  resisting  difficulties,  braving  dan- 
gers, and  practising  self-denial.  But  the  consideration 
of  that  future  state,  to  which  the  present  is  but  intro- 
ductory, makes  it  still  easier  to  bear  these  e\'ils  :  For  it 
gives  them  the  aspect  of  so  many  tutors  and  govern- 
ors, employed  to  train  us  up  for  the  occupations  and 
honours  of  a  kingdom  in  the  heavens.  And  it  puts 
on  them  no  deceitful  appearance.  They  are  in  fact 
such  governors  and  tutors,  but  for  which,  few  if  any  of 
the  human  kind  would  have  entered  into  eternity  pre- 


112  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  DISC.  III. 

pared  for  its  happiness.  It  is  affliction  which  prevents 
us  from  confining  our  viev/s  and  hopes  to  the  earth, 
and  wings  our  spirits  with  ardent  desires  and  aspira- 
tions for  the  mansions  of  rest.  It  is  affliction  which 
furnishes  occasions  for  high  instances  of  virtue,  and 
thus  enables  us  to  win  a  brighter  crown  of  everlasting 
joy.  Those  saints  Avhom  the  prophet  of  Patmos  be- 
held in  vision  with  so  much  admiration,  had  not  been 
so  pre-eminently  distinguished  in  heaven,  if  they  had 
not  ascended  thither  out  of  great  tribulation.  Myriads 
upon  myriads  now  shining  above  the  brightness  of  the 
firmament,  had  not  poured  around  them  such  efful- 
gence of  glory,  if  they  had  been  exempt  from  the  natu- 
ral evils  which  befell  them  in  this  life. 

This  therefore  is  the  just  conclusion  in  respect  to 
these  evils  ;  that  while  in  quantity  they  are  almost  as 
nothing  compared  to  the  natural  good  which  we  enjoy, 
they  are,  unless  it  be  otherwise  by  our  own  wilfulness, 
attended  with  advantages  which  call  for  our  adoring 
gratitude  and  praise. 

Of  the  things  which  have  been  spoken,  the  sum  is 
this ;  that  while  the  constitution  under  which  it  has 
pleased  the  Almighty  Sovereign  of  the  Universe  to 
bring  the  posterity  of  Adam  into  being,  assuming  the 
certainty  of  their  depravation  and  ruin  in  consequence 
of  his  disobedience,  though  by  no  means  attractive 
regarded  in  itself,  is  liable  to  no  just  censure;  we 
ought  never  to  limit  our  view  to  this  part  of  the  divine 
plan,  which  had  never  been  determined  on,  but  as 


DISC.  III.  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  113 

introductory  to  another  scheme  of  things,  vastly  more 
evincive  of  goodness  and  grace,  than  the  former  of 
severity  and  wrath. — Nor  is  it  an  objection  to  what  we 
have  advanced  on  this  subject,  that  so  large  a  portion  of 
mankind,  after  all,  perish  in  idolatry  and  unbelief. 
Heathenism  and  the  wickedness  of  christian  nations 
proceed  from  the  same  original  cause,  the  rejection  of 
God's  truth  and  grace.*  And  shall  the  madness  of 
human  depravity  make  the  grace  of  God  of  none 
effect? 

And  now  this  doctrine  is  not  more  evidently  true 
than  its  inculcation  is  important.  The  human  mind 
can  have  no  worthy  sentiments  and  feelings  toward 
God,  without  just  and  worthy  thoughts  of  his  character 
and  ways.  Such  thoughts  are  natively  incongenial  to 
its  spirit,  which  is  enmity  against  God,  and  must  of 
course,  and  without  the  influence  of  any  adverse  cause 
extraneous  to  the  mind  itself,  be  very  unhkely  to  find 
free  entrance  into  it.  Especially  is  this  ti'ue  in  relation 
to  our  subject.  Here,  doubtless  more  than  on  any  other 
point,  does  man  maintain  proud  controversy  with  his 
Maker ;  cherishing  most  injurious  feeling,  if  not  venting 
it  in  open  and  impious  complaints.  Whether  those  who 
have  undertaken  to  vindicate  the  divine  conduct  in  this 
matter;  have  not,  by  assuming  untenable  positions,  and 
principally  by  not  fully  unfolding  the  divine  conduct 
itself,  contributed  rather  to  promote  than  end  the  contro- 

*  John  i.  5.  and  iii.  19.    Rom.  i.  21,  28. 

lo 


114  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  DISC.  III. 

veisy,  I  shall  not  consider ;  but  sure  I  am,  that  if  that 
conduct,  as  exhibited  in  scripture,  be  righteously  judged 
of,  all  men  must  see  that  God,  so  far  from  having  given 
them  cause  for  the  slightest  disaffection,  has  afforded 
them  matter  for  higher  praises  than  He  ever  has  the 
holy  angels,  "  that  do  His  commandments,  hearkening 
unto  the  voice  of  His  word."  While  it  was  no  way 
incumbent  on  God  to  shut  the  door  opened  by  Adam  to 
the  letting  in  of  sin  and  death  upon  himself  and  his 
race  ;  while  if  ruin  had  rushed  in  through  that  door  so 
criminally  opened,  and  its  tide  had  continued  to  roll  on 
forever,  unrestrained  and  undiminished,  it  were  vast 
iniquity  to  cast  upon  God  the  blame  of  such  a  perversion 
of  the  good  order  he  had  established  ;  His  having  pro- 
vided a  remedy  for  the  infinite  mischief,  and  commenced 
a  new  economy,  adapted  to  man's  altered  state  and  cir- 
cumstances, and  terminating  in  such  an  elevation  of  our 
nature  as  the  gospel  ensures  to  the  penitent  believer  ; 
and  this  at  an  expense  to  Himself  compared  to  which  the 
sacrifice  of  worlds  had  been  less  than  nothing ; — mani- 
fests goodness  in  God  of  a  length  and  a  breadth,  a  depth 
and  a  height,  of  which  no  understanding  less  capacious 
than  His  own  can  embrace  an  adequate  conception  : 
Heaven  will  be  held  in  everlasting  wonder ;  and  it  will 
constitute  the  chief  reproach  and  torment  of  the  damned, 
that  they  have  rebelled  against  a  Being  of  so  wondrous 
a  love.  And  if  men  on  earth  could  be  led  to  look  thus 
at  the  subject — if  they  would  take  but  a  glance  at  it 
in  this  light,  how  would  their  hearts  smite  them  for  their 


DISC.   III.  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  115 

censures  of  their  Maker,  and  turn  their  indignation 
against  themselves.  But  can  such  feeUngs  be  awakened 
in  the  soul  by  considering  merely  that  part  of  the 
divine  conduct  which  connected  our  fall  with  the  fall  of 
Adam  ?  or  by  regarding  this  step  of  God's  providence 
as  separate  from,  and  unrelated  to  the  scheme  of  stu- 
pendous mercy  to  which  it  was  in  fact  introductory  ? 
If,  indeed,  men  would  take  a  just  impression  from  that 
doing  of  Providence,  even  so  considered,  they  would 
find  no  fault  with  it,  as  far  as  God's  agency  in  it  was 
concerned.  Conscious  of  personal  depravity,  which  in  its 
own  nature  is  inexcusable,  they  would  condemn  them- 
selves, and  justify  theh:  Maker.  But  they  would  not 
be  so  affected,  either  with  self-abhonence  or  a  sense  of 
the  glory  of  the  divine  nature,  as  when  they  feel  the 
power  of  a  just  exhibition  of  the  entire  conduct  of  God 
in  this  case.  No ;  God  would  seem  to  them  just 
and  holy,  but  yet  awfully  severe ;  and  that  view  of  Him 
would  but  produce,  in  minds  already  darkened  and 
perverted  by  sin,  the  madness  of  hatred  and  rebellion. 
But  how  could  such  minds  be  made  to  receive  a  just 
impression  of  what  is  so  terrible  in  its  bearing  on  them- 
selves ?  Minds  unperverted  and  pure  might  judge  of  it 
fairly  ;  but  were  it  not  a  desperate  task  to  undertake  to 
prevent  depraved  beings,  and  beings  so  concerned  in  the 
matter,  from  conceiving  hard  and  mahgnant  thoughts  .^ 
And  were  it  less  unrighteous  than  hopeless,  to  endea- 
vour by  this  means  to  slay  the  enmity  of  the  unre- 
newed heart  ?     Why  should  we  assail  this  adversary 


116  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  DISC.   III. 

with  such  a  weapon  ?  It  is  not  the  sword  of  the  Spirit ; 
it  is  not  the  whole  counsel  of  God.  It  is  misrepresent- 
ing God  to  mankind,  thus  partially  to  declare  His  consti- 
tution over  them.  It  is  doing  Him  wrong.  Here 
especially  does  it  behoove  us  to  tell,  not  only  the  truth, 
but  the  whole  truth  ;  showing  the  goodness  as  well  as 
severity  of  God.  Blend  these  two  rays  together,  and 
converge  them,  in  one  beam  of  pure  white  light,  upon 
the  human  conscience  and  heart ;  and  then,  if  ever, 
man  becomes  a  contrite  penitent,  and  loves  and  adores 
his  glorious  Maker.  Under  that  influence,  directed  and 
blessed  l^y  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  work  of  humiliation  is 
perfected  :  the  mind  escapes  from  the  blinding  and  de- 
ceivable  power  of  sin ;  all  excuses  for  depravity  are 
absorbed  in  a  sense  of  its  intrinsic  turpitude  and  bitter- 
ness ;  the  blameworthiness  of  sin  is  seen  to  be  irrespec- 
tive of  the  manner  of  its  origin ;  all  fallacies  are  de- 
tected ;  all  delusions  are  dispelled ;  and  the  spirit  of 
repentance  sits  ascendant  in  the  heart  over  nature's 
rebelHousness  and  strife,  and  diffuses  tenderness,  humi- 
lity, and  peace,  through  every  thought  and  every  feehng. 
Such  is  the  result,  because  God  now  is  not  judged  of 
by  the  hearing  of  the  ear,  by  partial  and  erroneous 
statements,  but  is  seen,  as  with  the  eye,  in  the  light  of 
a  just  and  faithful  manifestation. 

It  remains  only  to  consider  our  personal  concern  in 
the  truth  which  has  Ijeen  declared.  It  is  characteristic 
of  our  race  to  contend  against  God,  chiefly  in  respect  to 
the  constitution  under  which  He  has  placed  us.     To 


DISC.  III.  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  117 

contend  against  Him  at  all,  is  to  exemplify  that  despe- 
ration of  wickedness,  with  which  we  are  so  unwilling 
to  confess  ourselves  chargeable :  for  what  is  wicked- 
ness, if  it  be  not  opposing  infinite  excellence  'I  How 
does  a  good  man  feel,  after  emerging,  like  the  Psahn- 
ist,  from  the  hell  of  such  contention  ?  So  foolish  tvas 
I  and  ignorant :  I  was  as  a  beast  before  thee.  What 
riches  of  forbearance  in  God,  to  spare  the  creature's  life 
who  rises  up  against  Him  !  Let  the  potsherd  strive  with 
the  potsherd  of  the  earth,  ])ut  wo  to  him  that  striveth 
with  his  Maker  !  Let  God  do  what  He  may,  man  should 
be  dumb,  and  open  not  his  mouth,  just  because  God 
hath  done  it.  But  to  find  fault  with  His  conduct,  in  a 
particular  wherein  his  goodness  cannot  be  duly  cele- 
brated, even  by  the  praises  of  eternity ;  to  make  this, 
above  all  other  things,  the  matter  of  our  complaint ; 
ought  we  not  to  be  ashamed  and  confounded  at  the 
recollection  that  we  have  been  guilty  of  such  mad- 
ness ? — And,  my  brethren,  we  are  involved  in  this  guilt, 
to  a  greater  extent  than  at  first  thought  may  appear. 
Every  sin  we  commit  carries  this  guilt  in  its  nature. 
We  are  not  sooner  born,  than  we  are  met  by  the  provi- 
sion against  our  depravity  and  ruin,  which  God's 
boundless  mercy  hath  made  for  the  fallen  race.  All 
its  advantages  of  superabounding  grace  are  at  hand 
the  instant  they  are  needed,  and  a  life  of  sin  is  but  one 
perpetual  rejection  of  these  infinite  advantages.  Each 
separate  sin  expresses  new  contempt  of  them.  This  is 
the  grand  condemnation  of  mankind.  Having  destroyed 


118  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  DISC.  HI. 

themselves,  they  reproach  the  High  and  Holy  One  with 
the  blame  of  their  destruction  ;  while  He  stretches  out 
the  hand  of  deliverance  to  them  all  the  day  long,  and 
strives  with  them  by  His  Spirit  to  conquer  their  aver- 
sion to  His  character  and  kingdom. 

Such  is  man — self-justifying,  God-accusing  man.  I 
that  speak  this  am  a  man  myself,  and  am  aware  that  I 
pronounce  my  own  shame.  But  I  stand  here  to  bear 
witness  to  the  truth ;  and  would  that  I  had  a  voice 
which  could  distinctly  and  convincingly  sound  out 
this  truth  to  every  creature  under  heaven,  who  hath  an 
ear  to  hear.  It  is  a  truth,  of  which  all  will  be  one  day 
convinced.  The  period  of  contradiction  and  gainsay- 
ing is  approaching,  when  every  mouth  shall  be  stop- 
ped, and  all  the  world  confess  themselves  guilty  before 
God.  O  that  I  could  give  one  solemn  warning  of  that 
fast-coming  period,  to  every  hving  man.  But  it  is  only 
to  you  that  my  voice  can  cry.  Think  me  not  an  ene- 
my, because  I  tell  you  the  truth.  I  bring  against  you 
the  charge  of  desperate  wickedness  in  the  sight  of  God. 
This  message  God  has  put  into  my  mouth,  and  com- 
manded me  to  deliver  to  every  soul  that  hears  me  this 
day.  It  is  the  accusation  of  God  Himself.  Plead  guilty 
to  it,  and  with  lowly  and  sincere  cries  for  mercy,  cast 
yourselves  down  at  the  feet  of  your  Almighty  Sove- 
reign and  Judge ;  and  there  is  hope  concerning  you, 
for  there  is  forgiveness  with  Him.  Show  resentment 
or  indifference  at  the  accusation,  and  I  will  presently 
tell  you  the  result. 


UISC.   III.  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  119 

Plead  guilty,  but  not  with  a  faltering  tongue,  or  with 
an  unconvinced,  unhumbled,  unbroken  spirit.  If  you 
do  not  feel  yourselves  guilty,  to  confess  yourselves  so  is 
but  to  mock  Him  who  knows  your  heart.  And  what 
can  hinder  a  sense  of  guilt?  Are  there  no  witnesses 
against  you?  Cannot  memory  gather  round  you  a 
host  of  witnesses  ?  Let  me  awaken  memory  by  two 
or  three  questions.  Can  you  count  the  number  of  the 
secret  murmurs  against  God,  by  which  you  have  im- 
peached the  goodness  of  His  character  and  the  rectitude 
of  His  government,  as  really  as  open  and  formal  accu- 
sations would  have  done  ?  Has  there  been  no  complain- 
ing, no  profaneness  in  your  tongue  ?  But  if  no  hidden 
feeling  of  rebellion  has  polluted  your  breast,  and  no  ex- 
pression of  enmity  escaped  your  lips — unlikely  suppo- 
sition— yet  let  me  ask  once  more,  what  manner  of  life 
have  you  pursued  ?  WorldUness,  sensuality,  ambition, 
forgetfulness  of  God,  deadness  to  the  glory  and  love  of 
Christ,  neglect  of  the  soul,  bible  slighted,  sabbath-pro- 
fanations, conscience  defiled,  convictions  stifled,  the 
Spirit  quenched — come  up,  ye  various  forms  of  wick- 
edness, come  ye  up  out  of  the  forgotten  past,  and  stand 
in  order  before  the  face  of  these  hard-hearted  men. 
Behold,  my  hearers,  how  many  they  are  that  witness 
against  you.  The  multitude  is  innumerable.  And  what 
do  they  prove  concerning  you  ?  That  you  are  rebels, 
against  the  law  which  Adam  violated  ?  —  no  :  not 
breakers  of  the  covenant  of  innocence  and  justice,  but 
breakers,  despisers,  renouncers  all  your  lifetime,  from 


120  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY.  DISC.   III. 

the  first  (lawn  of  intelligence  until  now — rcnomicers  of 
the  covenant  of  the  exceeding  riches  of  the  grace  of 
God.  Have  you  stiU  no  sense  of  sin  ?  Then  liear 
one  word  more.  The  constitution  of  grace,  which  now 
suffers  you  to  go  at  large,  carrying  ever  about  with  you 
your  hardness  and  inipenitency  of  heart,  is  not,  as  now 
administered,  God's  rule  of  judgment  for  eternity.  An- 
other order  of  things  will  one  day  be  established.  A 
day  is  now  in  God's  view,  and  will  soon  pour  its 
amazing  light  on  the  eyes  of  all,  both  quick  and  dead, 
called  in  scripture,  the  day  of  the  revelation  of  the  right- 
eous judgment  of  God.  It  is  the  day  for  setting  up  the 
third  and  last  form  of  the  divine  administration.  Then 
will  begin  an  economy  which  will  never  end,  and  never 
change.  That  portion  of  mankind  who  then  shaU  be 
found  to  have  submitted  to  God's  rule  now  in  force, 
shall  inherit  the  blessedness  of  which  mention  has  been 
made  in  this  discourse.  But  now  let  me  declare  the  in- 
heritance of  the  hard-hearted.  The  infinite  grace  which 
they  now  pervert  and  abuse,  will  turn  their  accuser,  and 
God  will  make  inciuisition  for  every  indignity,  which, 
in  thought,  word,  or  deed,  they  shall  have  committed 
against  it.  He  will  show  himself  as  great  in  majesty 
and  righteousness,  as  he  now- appears  in  mercy.  And 
as  once  a  world  perished  by  the  waters  of  a  fiood,  so 
the  entire  multitude  of  the  wicked,  angels  and  men, 
sliall  then  be  doomed  to  everlasting  fire,  and  the  smoke 
of  their  torment  will  ascend  forever  and  ever. 


DISCOURSE   IV. 


THE  NECESSITY  OF  ATONEMENT. 


Hebrews  ix.  22.—"  Without  shedding  of  blood  is  no  remission." 

Remission  of  sins  stands  connected,  in  the  holy 
scriptures,  with  the  shedding  of  the  blood  of  Jesus,  as 
the  atoning  cause.  Of  this  leading  article  of  the  chris- 
tian faith,  the  author  of  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
urges  the  shedding  of  the  blood  of  animals  in  sacrifice 
as  the  grand  type,  and  the  undeniable  evidence.  By 
the  divine  institution  and  design  of  the  typical  atone- 
ment under  the  law,  he  estabUshes  the  truth  of  the 
real  atonement  effected  by  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Atonement  always  supposes  a  party  offending  and  a 

party  offended.     It  supposes  that  the  offended  holds 

the  offender  justly  bound  to  suffer  penal  consequences 

as  merited  by  the  offence.     It  supposes  that  for  the 

16 


122  THE  NECESSITY  DISC.  IV. 

offence  an  adequate  reparation  has  been  made  in  be- 
half of  him,  by  whom  it  has  been  conniiitted.  The 
reparation  made  under  these  circumstances  takes  the 
place  of  the  original  punishment,  becomes  a  fit  ground, 
in  view  of  which  the  offence  may  be  remitted,  and  is 
properly  denominated  an  atonement.  The  question 
proposed  for  present  discussion  regards  the  necessity 
of  the  atonement  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  order  to  God's  re- 
mitting the  sins  of  men. 

In  considering  this  question,  we  should  conceive  of 
the  divine  mind  as  being  incapable  of  change.  His 
displeasure  at  sin,  his  disposition  and  determination  to 
treat  it  according  to  its  demerit,  his  requiring  an  atone- 
ment, and  his  remitting  the  punishment  on  the  ground 
of  the  atonement,  are  all  as  much  in  harmony  with  the 
immutability  of  the  counsels  of  the  all-wise  and  per- 
fect Jehovah,  as  the  various  apparent  changes  in  the 
administration  of  his  moral  government ;  as  much  so 
as  when  he  suspends  the  bestowing  of  needed  mercies 
on  the  preceding  prayers  of  his  saints  ;  as  much  so  as 
a  thousand  facts  of  constant  occurrence,  where  one 
measure  in  the  divine  procedure  is  interlinked  with 
another  antecedent  to  it,  and  holding  the  place  of  a 
preparatory  condition.  Shall  we  say  that  the  all- wise, 
all-comprehending  mind  of  God  changes  its  counsels, 
and  that  these  various  combinations  of  events,  exhibit- 
ing so  much  relation  and  order,  entered  not  into  the 
vast  scheme  which  from  eternity  it  contemplated  ? 


DISC.  IV.  OP  ATONEMENT.  123 

It  is  generally  agreed  that  the  salvation  of  sinful 
men  by  the  gospel  is  the  result  of  God's  gracious  pur- 
pose, which  purpose  comprehends  all  the  means  and 
provisions,  be  they  what  they  may,  best  fitted  to  accom- 
plish the  end.  It  is  easy  to  distinguish  between  that 
purpose  and  the  infinite  mind  in  which  it  was  formed. 
There  is  no  greater  difficulty  in  conceiving  of  that  pur- 
pose as  being  unfonned,  than  there  is  in  conceiving  of 
it  as  being  formed.  Let  us  conceive  of  such  a  state. 
Let  us  conceive  of  that  condition  of  the  sinning  crea- 
ture which  precedes  all  measures  devised  and  adopted 
for  his  recovery.  Let  us  carry  our  thoughts  back,  and 
conceive  of  a  state  in  which  the  infinitely  perfect  Jeho- 
vah contemplates  the  fallen  world  of  mankind,  laden 
with  all  the  guilt  of  its  apostacy,  and  unprotected  by 
any  measures  for  its  redemption.  In  this  state  the 
question  arises,  in  order  to  the  forgiveness  and  recovery 
of  these  sinning  creatures,  can  we  discover  any  valid 
reasons  which  render  an  atonement  necessary  ?  Or,  is 
the  divine  nature,  so  far  as  we  can  comprehend  it,  such 
as  to  admit  of  their  pardon  and  restoration  without  an 
atonement  ? 

As  a  preliminary,  we  are  constrained  by  a  regard  to 
the  laws  of  fair  discussion  to  protest  against  the  adducing, 
as  is  often  done,  of  any  facts  as  bearing  upon  this  ques- 
tion, which  belong  to  the  present  gracious  methods  of 
God's  dealings  with  the  human  race.  Those  methods 
are  subsequent  to  that  state  to  which  the  question 
relates.     They  form  the  very  matter  in  dispute.     The 


124  THE  NECESSITY  DISC.  IV. 

question  is,  whether,  in  order  to  the  adoption  of  those 
gracious  methods,  an  atonement  was  not  necessary? 
It  would  be  an  admirable  specimen  of  reasoning  to  de- 
cide that  an  atonement  was  not  originally  necessary, 
because  God  has  adopted  gracious  methods  of  dealing 
with  our  apostate  race.  What  if  the  advocates  of  the 
atonement  should  maintain  that  it  was  made  for  sin- 
ners of  mankind ;  that  the  mercies  which  flow  from  it 
do  in  some  measure  extend  to  the  whole  world,  and  that 
it  has  given  birth  to  a  system  of  gracious  treatment  to 
endure  as  long  as  time  shall  last,  essentially  different 
from  the  course  which  must  have  been  pursued,  had  no 
expiation  for  human  guilt  been  provided  ?  The  appeal 
is  made  to  every  principle  of  honest  investigation,  whe- 
ther any  part  of  God's  present  benignity  to  our  revolted 
world,  which  we  assert  results  from  the  efficacy  of  the 
atonement,  can  lawfully  I)e  used  as  a  proof  against  the 
original  necessity  of  the  atonement?  Arguments 
against  that  original  necessity  can  no  more  be  permitted 
to  be  urged  from  this  quarter,  than  a  claimant  to  an 
estate  involved  in  a  chancery-suit  will  be  suffered  to 
draw  upon  the  proceeds  of  that  estate,  in  order  to  carry 
on  the  prosecution.  Here  the  principle  would  be  sim- 
ple and  brief  Let  it  be  first  decided  in  whom  the  right 
of  property  is  vested,  and  then  let  the  lawful  owner 
enter  upon  tlie  possession  of  his  estate  with  all  its  ad- 
vantages unimpaired.  To  say  therefore  that  no  atone- 
ment was  originally  necessary,  because  God,  in  the 
present  state  of  things,  "  makes  his  sun  to  rise  on 


DISC.  IV.  OP  ATONEMENT.  125 

the  evil,  and  on  the  good,  and  sends  rain  on  the  just, 
and  on  the  unjust;"  and  proclaims  himself  by  his 
prophets  and  apostles  to  be  gracious  and  merciful,  and 
ready  to  forgive  the  sinner  upon  his  repentance,  is  taking 
for  granted  the  main  thing  in  dispute.  It  \v^ould  afford 
logicians  a  fine  example  of  that  species  of  sophism 
which  they  term  a  begging  of  the  question.  It  is 
turning  the  fruits  of  the  atonement  against  the  atone- 
ment itself — a  parricidal  act.  It  is  adducing  the  child 
to  prove,  not  only  that  the  parent  never  existed,  l^ut  that 
it  was  never  necessary  that  he  should  exist. 

The  evangelical  doctrine  of  atonement,  as  held  by 
the  ApostoUcal  church  and  by  all  consistent  Protestants 
is  founded  in  the  independent,  essential  mercy  of  God. 
It  originated  in  his  infinite  mercy.  Strictly  speaking, 
it  was  neither  contemplated  nor  demanded  by  justice. 
It  was  an  expedient,  devised  by  boundless  wisdom,  and 
furnished  by  boundless  love,  to  supersede  the  rigorous 
execution  of  justice.  To  this  principle  I  call  your  spe- 
cial notice  at  this  point  of  the  discussion.  It  wiU  cut  off 
occasion  for  future  cavilling,  and  help  to  place  certain 
parts  of  the  suliject  in  their  just  light.  It  also  aiTords 
the  most  triumphant  refutation  of  an  objection  to 
which  the  enemies  of  our  doctrine  attach  immense 
importance.  They  charge  us  with  believing  in  an 
implacable  God,  in  a  Being  who  is  cruel  and  revengeful 
in  his  nature,  who  is  indisposed  to  show  favour,  who 
can  be  made  favourable  and  mercifid  only  by  the  in- 
fliction of  pain  upon  his  creatures.     If  such  in  truth  be 


126  THE   NECESSITY  DISC.  IV. 

our  exhibition  of  the  divine  cliaracter,  it  merits  the  exe- 
cration of  every  upright  mind.  No  !  hearers  ;  the 
eternal,  unbought  love  and  compassion  of  God  are  the 
very  fountain  of  the  atonement.  But  for  this,  there 
could  have  been  no  deliverance,  no  hope  for  an  apostate 
world.  The  love  of  God  preceded  the  gift  of  Clirist ; 
and  so  far  is  God  from  being  essentially  implacable,  that 
had  he  not  been  essentially  placable,  the  eternal  Son 
would  never  have  been  given.  Fallen  man,  considered 
as  a  being  capable  of  bliss  and  wo,  is  not  the  object  of 
Jehovah's  displeasure.  Viewed  in  this  light,  he  is 
the  object  of  God's  good  will.  He  was  so  regarded  in 
the  contemplations  of  the  eternal  mind,  while  as  "  yet 
he  had  not  made  the  earth  nor  the  highest  part  of  the 
dust  of  the  world."  "  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he 
gave  his  only  begotten  Son."  In  this  view,  on  the 
subject  of  man's  recovery,  all  balm-breathing,  soul- 
soothing  images  of  a  Being  moved  by  inherent  mercy 
and  compassion,  "  taking  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of 
the  sinner,"  but  avoiding  the  infliction  of  wo  wherever 
he  honourably  can,  arise  before  the  mind.  It  is  only 
when  man  is  viewed  in  his  complex  character  as  a  re- 
volted, guilty  creature,  that  a  pure  and  righteous  Being 
must,  to  use  the  strong  language  of  his  own  lips,  "pour 
out"  on  him  his  fury  "  like  fire."  And  it  was  to  do 
away  this  just  ground  of  his  wrath  that  the  love  of 
God  found  an  expiation.  It  was  that  this  purity  might 
be  vindicated,  and  that  his  mercy  might  have  its  perfect 
work,  that  God  himself  provided  the  "  lamb   for  the 


DISC.  IV.  OF  ATONEMENT.  127 

burnt  offering-."  And  does  this  wondrous  measure 
deserve  to  be  represented  as  casting  so  fold  a  reproach 
upon  the  adorable  Supreme  ?  Are  we  to  be  charged 
with  making  him  implacable,  because  we  believe  that 
his  perfections,  in  going  forth  to  do  their  strange  work, 
respect  themselves,  one  another,  and  the  propriety  and 
fitness  of  occasions  ?  Is  it  then  such  a  mighty  crime  to 
believe  that  the  divine  perfections  suspend  their  outward 
works  on  certain  conditions,  and  operate  in  the  view  of 
vahd  and  seemly  reasons  ?  In  truth,  it  becomes  our 
adversaries  to  inquire  whether  they  can  shield  their  own 
heads  against  charges  which  they  so  confidently  and 
reproachfully  hurl  upon  the  heads  of  others.  Do  not 
they  themselves  pronounce  the  exercise  of  God's  mercy 
toward  sinners  impossible  except  upon  certain  condi- 
tions ?  Do  not  they  themselves  maintain  that  "without 
the  repentance  and  obedience  of  the  sinner  he  cannot 
be  saved  ?"  that "  God  could  not  pardon  us  before  re- 
pentance without  violating  the  rectitude  of  his  own 
laws?"  and  that  "God  will  freely  forgive  those,  and 
those  onlp,  who  sincerely  repent  ?"  Nay,  do  not  many 
of  them  contend  that  "  the  death  of  Christ  has  a  special 
influence  in  removing  punishment  as  a  condition  or 
method  of  pardon,  without  which  repentance  would  not 
avail  us  ?"  Might  not  we  now  assert,  were  we  disposed 
to  be  disingenuous,  and  to  impute  to  rationalists  senti- 
ments which  they  abhor  and  disavow,  that  they  repre- 
sent God  as  an  implacable,  revengeful  Being,  who  is 
averse  to  the  exercise  of  mercy,  and  who  nmst  be  made 


12S  THE  NECESSITY  DISC.  IV. 

willing  to  forgive,  by  the  repentance  and  the  obedience  of 
the  sinner  ?  Might  not  we  with  eqnal  justice  ask, 
What !  is  God  then  so  implacable,  so  disinchned  by  his 
own  nature  to  show  compassion  and  to  act  the  part  of 
a  father  toward  his  poor,  powerless,  unhappy  creatures, 
that,  according  to  some,  nothing  short  of  their  repent- 
ance, and  according  to  others,  nothing  short  of  the  death 
of  his  own  Son,  could  move  him  to  grant  them  his 
forgiveness  ?  But  we  know  that  such  declamation 
would  be  as  disingenuous  as  it  is  absurd.  The  objec- 
tion is  a  palpable  perversion  of  the  truth ;  and  there  is 
nothing  in  it  that  presses  us,  which  may  not  be  retorted 
with  equal  force  upon  the  adversary  himself.  We  are 
now  prepared  to  enter  upon  a  direct  investigation  of  the 
question. 

The  forgiveness  of  sin  essentially  depends  on  the 
whole  character  of  God,  on  his  moral  views  and  feelings 
respecting  sin,  and  on  the  reasons  which  render  its 
punishment  necessary.  It  is  here  that  we  should  look 
for  all  the  obstacles,  if  there  be  any,  which  obstruct  the 
exercise  of  grace,  and  oppose  the  remission  of  sin,  and 
for  all  the  reasons  which  render  an  atonement  in  behalf 
of  sinful  men,  with  a  view  to  their  receiving  that  blessed 
benefit,  indispensable.  Here,  then,  let  us  commence 
the  discussion. 

The  doctrine  which  I  propose  to  illustrate  and  esta- 
blish is  contained  in  the  following  proposition  :  The 
great  moral  reasons  lohich  require  the  punishment 


DISC.  IV.  OF  ATONEMENT.  129 

of  sin  render  the  atonement  necessary  in  order  to  its 
forgiveness.     Two  things  are  to  be  accomplished  : 

First,  I  am  to  prove  that  there  are  great  moral  reasons 
which  require  that  sin  should  ])e  punished. 

Secondly,  I  am  to  show  that  these  reasons  render  the 
atonement  necessary  in  order  to  its  forgiveness. 

God's  hoUness  and  justice  form  the  first  moral  reason. 
This  is  "  the  ground  pillar  and  chief  buttress"  of  my 
argument.  If  he  is  a  holy  and  a  righteous  God,  it  is 
impossible  that  sin  should  pass  impunished.  You  ask 
me  what  is  God's  holiness ;  what  is  his  rectitude  ?  Had 
you  inquired  respecting  man's  holiness  and  righteous- 
ness, it  would  have  been  an  easier  task  to  reply.  For 
man  we  have  a  standard  ;  but  for  "the  First,  the  Su- 
preme of  things,"  there  can  be  no  standard.  He  is 
independent  of  all,  the  original  of  all.  You  ask  me,  is 
his  hohness  the  result  of  an  act  of  his  will  ?  That 
cannot  be  ;  for  it  implies  that  God's  will  preceded  his 
holiness,  and  that  had  he  seen  fit  to  will  to  be  otherwise 
than  holy,  he  might  have  been  the  opposite — a  horrible 
thought !  Does  it  then  consist  in  his  love  of  himself? 
But  beings  love  themselves  who  are  not  holy.  Is  it  then 
his  determination  to  treat  all  created  beings  according 
to  their  worth  ?  This  makes  his  holiness  dependent 
for  its  existence  upon  creatures  whose  very  being  is  a 
contingence  ;  and  as  we  can  conceive  of  their  not  ex- 
isting, so  such  a  supposition  would  annihilate  the  divine 
holiness.  We  must  go  farther  back.  We  must  look 
for  his  holiness  among  the  qualities  essential  to  his 
17 


130  THE  NECICSSITY  DISC.  IV. 

being.  We  must  look  for  it  there  as  much  as  for  any 
other  attribute.  It  is  an  essential  part  of  his  eternal 
character.  It  is  his  immutable  disposition  toward  all 
points  that  involve  morality.  I  would  say  it  is  his  most 
perfect  perception  of  right  and  wrong :  it  is  his  most 
perfect  approbation  of  right ;  it  is  his  most  perfect  ab- 
horrence of  wrong.  It  is  his  moral  worth.  It  is  that 
which  renders  him  the  becoming  object  of  his  own 
supreme  regard,  and  the  becoming  object  of  the  supreme 
regard  of  all  sentient  beings  ;  and  hence  in  the  moral 
law,  his  first  requirement  is  that  we  love  the  Lord  our 
God  with  all  our  heart,  soul,  strength,  and  mind.  And 
his  justice  is  also  inherent  and  essential.  It  is  the  dis- 
position of  his  nature  to  act,  in  all  worlds,  on  all  occa- 
sions, in  the  most  exact  conformity  to  his  moral  sense. 
In  heaven,  earth,  or  hell,  no  being  shall  ever  have 
ground  of  complaint,  that  in  his  treatment  of  him,  God 
has  forgotten  his  own  holiness  and  justice. 

That  he  is  thus  holy  and  righteous  in  his  own  na- 
ture, must  be  evident  on  a  very  shght  examination. 
For  this — and  this  alone,  lays  the  foundation  for  all 
honourable  thoughts,  for  all  acceptable  love,  reverence, 
and  service,  in  the  bosoms  of  intelligent  creatures.  It 
is  proved  by  the  whole  constitution  of  our  moral  nature, 
by  our  best  affections  and  passions,  implanted  not  in 
vain.  Can  you  love  and  reverence  a  God  without 
inherent  perfect  hohness  and  righteousness  ?  Can  you 
esteem  and  worship  a  God  who  perceives  not  and  re- 
gards  not,  originally  and  of  himself,   the   difference 


DISC.  IV.  OF  ATONEMENT.  131 

between  right  and  wrong,  sin  and  holiness  ?  May  it  be 
said  without  impiety  ? — if  it  may,  let  it  then  be  said — 
he  regards  not,  he  is  incapable  of  regarding,  right  and 
wrong.  He  regards  them  not  in  his  own  moral  dis- 
position, regards  them  not  in  his  most  secret  thoughts. 
What  have  you  done  ?  Shocking  to  be  repeated  and  to 
be  heard  ;  you  have,  so  far  as  the  morahty  of  things  is 
concerned,  brought  him  down  to  the  level  of  a  mere 
blind  physical  agent.  You  have  made  him  lilve  the 
fragrant  flower,  hke  the  blooming  garden,  like  the 
refulgent  sun,  like  the  whirlwind,  like  the  thunderbolt, 
like  the  volcano.  Are  these  the  proper  objects  of  your 
reverence  and  homage  ?  The  beautiful  objects  of  the 
material  world,  and  the  grand,  dehght  and  elevate  the 
beholder ;  but  they  impart  their  agreeable  qualities  with 
equal  readiness  to  the  righteous  and  the  unrighteous. 
The  dread  objects  of  nature  spend  their  fury  in  their 
blind  course ;  but  in  the  evils  which  they  bring,  they 
heed  no  difference  Isetween  the  holy  and  the  unholy. 
To  love,  and  honour,  and  serve,  a  being  hke  these  is 
impossible. 

And  is  it  for  a  finite  mind  to  imagine  a  Being  so 
unblessed  as  God  must  be,  on  the  hypothesis  that  to 
approve  and  cherish  holiness,  and  to  hate  evil  and 
banish  it  from  his  presence,  is  not  an  essential  part  of 
his  character?  To  be  blessed  in  himself,  and  to  be 
the  subject  of  blessing  from  others,  he  must  know  him- 
self, truly,  and  independently  of  all  extraneous  reasons. 


132  THE  NECESSITY  DISC.  IV. 

entitled  to  his  own  supreme  regard.  In  the  depths  of 
his  own  divine  nature,  he  must  contemplate  that 
which  entitles  him  to  the  supreme  regard  of  all  beings. 
There  is  not  a  person  in  this  assembly  who  is  not  capa- 
ble of  forming  some  estimate  of  his  own  intrinsic  moral 
worth.  And  wo  to  him,  should  he  be  conscious  that 
his  bosom  is  void  of  those  upright  principles  which  make 
the  heart  of  the  holy  man  a  heaven.  Wo  to  him, 
should  he  discover  himself  to  be  the  subject  of  the  exe- 
cration of  all  to  whom  his  principles  are  known.  How 
lost  then  to  every  sensation  of  happiness  would  the 
consciousness  of  such  deformity  as  the  want  of  inherent 
moral  perfection  implies,  render  a  Being  infinitely 
powerful  and  intelhgent !  He  knows  himself  to  be 
unworthy  of  his  own  approbation,  unworthy  of  the 
approbation  of  the  ci-eated  universe.  He  knows  that  the 
feelings  of  moral  creatures,  so  far  as  they  know  him, 
can  be  none  other  than  those  of  apprehension  and  dis- 
may. He  knows  that  there  is  nothmg  in  himself  that 
can  create  confidence,  nothing  that  can  inspire  esteem. 
He  knows  them  to  be  disposed  to  flee  his  presence,  as 
one  with  whom  the  righteous  may  be  as  the  wicked. 

And  is  it  for  such  a  Being  to  be  the  pure,  untroubled, 
constant  source  of  bhss  to  that  universe  over  whose 
destinies  it  is  his  province  to  preside  ?  He  is  omnipo- 
tent, but  his  omnipotence  may  be  put  forth  in  the  vio- 
lation of  right,  and  in  the  support  of  wrong.  He  has 
omniscience,  but  who  has  a  pledge  that  it  will  on  all 
occasions  be  exercised  in  the  attainment  of  the  highest 


DISC.   IV.  OF  ATONEMENT.  133 

good  ?  He  is  every  where  present,  but  how  and  whence 
do  we  know  that  it  is  to  command  the  springing  up  of 
blessings,  and  to  fix  the  boundaries  of  evil  ? 

No,  my  hearers,  such  an  hypothesis  can  never  stand. 
To  be  a  deserving  object  of  love,  reverence,  and  wor- 
ship, to  his  moral  creation,  to  be  a  supremely  happy 
Being,  and  to  be  the  source  of  blessing  to  the  system 
which  he  sways,  God  must  be  mtrinsically,  essentially 
holy  and  righteous. 

Let  us  apply  these  principles.  To  a  Being  who  is 
not  indebted  for  his  holiness  and  righteousness  to  any 
external  cause  whatever,  whose  very  essence  is  holy,  in 
what  light  must  that  appear  which  is  unholy  and 
unrighteous  J  We  should  at  once  infer  that  it  must  be 
regarded  as  an  offence  and  an  abhorrence.  The  infer- 
ence is  just.  In  his  word,*  God  thus  expostulates  with 
his  people  on  the  subject  of  a  particular  sin  :  "  Oh !  do 
not  this  abominable  thing  which  I  hate. ^^ 

And  how  can  it  be  otherwise  1  Sin  rises  up  in  direct 
opposition  and  hostility  to  himself.  It  is  in  itself,  apart 
from  all  extraneous  reasons,  deserving  of  abhorrence. 
It  insults  him  in  that  part  of  his  character  in  which 
he  is  most  worthy  of  universal  and  supreme  veneration, 
and  which  more  than  any  other  requires  to  be  guarded 
and  vindicated.  Sin  offers  him  the  greatest  affront  and 
dishonour.  Tell  me  not  that  God  cannot  be  disho- 
noured, that  he  is  incapable  of  being  injm'ed,  that  he  is 
far  above  the  reach  of  disgrace,  and  therefore  he  need 


134  THE  NECESSITY  DISC.  IV. 

not  be  sujjposed  to  manifest  any  displeasure  on  his  own 
account.  Of  personal  injury  no  one  has  for  an  instant 
supposed  him  capable.  But  must  we  therefore  suppose 
him  indifferent  to  the  light  in  which  his  moral  crea- 
ture regards  him,  and  to  the  treatment  which  he  gives 
him  ?  This  will  never  approve  itself  to  reason  or  to 
revelation.  It  saps  the  very  foundation  of  all  religion. 
It  cuts  the  very  sinews  of  duty.  And  it  is  not  true.  If 
his  word  is  uniform  in  any  thing,  it  is  in  exhibiting  the 
Deity  as  being  jealous  for  his  own  glory,  as  taking 
pleasure  in  the  hearty  praises  of  his  moral  creatures, 
and  as  manifesting  the  most  fearful  displeasure  at 
dishonour  done  to  his  own  name.  "  He  that  offereth 
praise  glorifieth  me."  "  Thou  that  makest  thy  boast  of 
the  law,  through  breaking  the  law  dishonourest  thou 
God.  For  the  name  of  God  is  blasphemed  among  the 
Gentiles  through  you."  Is  it  not  hence  undeniable  that 
there  is  that  evil  in  sin  which  calls  forth  his  holy  in- 
dignation, not  merely  because  it  exposes  the  person  who 
commits  it  to  pain,  not  because  it  may  seduce  other 
moral  beings  from  their  bright  course,  but  because  it  is 
an  affront  and  a  dishonour  to  God  himself? 

Between  such  a  Being  and  all  moral  dependencies 
exists  the  nearest  and  highest  of  all  relations.  Homage 
and  honour  to  his  person,  and  subjection  to  his  will,  is 
the  resulting  obligation.  To  fulfil  this  obligation  must 
be  right,  though  there  should  he  no  intelligent  being 
present  to  be  edified  by  the  example.  You  cannot, 
liearers,  but  perceive  in  it  a  seemliness,  a  congruity,  a 


DISC.  IV.  OP  ATONEMENT.  135 

rendering  "unto  God  the  things  that  are  God's," 
which  instantly  approves  itself  to  your  sense  of  right. 
And  if  this  in  itself  be  right,  the  reverse  must  in  itself 
be  wrong.  If  this  merit  praise  and  rev/ard,  the  reverse 
must  merit  censure  and  punishment.  The  witholding 
of  deserved  homage  and  obedience  must  be  regarded  by 
him  to  whom  they  are  due  as  an  intrinsic  evil.  He 
suffers  an  injury  in  his  rights  due  from  his  creature 
which  hes  open  to  his  displeasure.  And  to  manifest 
himself  otherwise  than  as  being  displeased,  to  omit 
treating  it  in  accordance  with  its  desert,  and  in  direct 
pursuance  of  his  ov/n  holy  nature,  would  be  at  va- 
riance with  his  inherent  moral  disposition.  Eternal, 
infinite  holiness  carmot  regard  such  a  case  in  any  other 
light  than  as  being  offensive.  Look  upon  this  picture, 
hearers,  the  picture  of  the  High  and  the  Holy  One,  not 
drawn  by  the  gloomy  imagination  of  some  bigoted 
fanatic,  but  by  the  Spirit  of  eternal  truth.  This  exhi- 
bits him  as  essentially  holy  and  righteous,  as  frowning 
upon  moral  evil  because  it  is  impossible  that  liis  own 
righteous  disposition,  independent  of  every  external 
consideration,  should  treat  it  with  favour  :  "  Thou  art 
of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold  evil,  and  canst  not  look 
on  iniquity  J''*  It  is  not  because  it  will  promote  the 
order  and  the  happmess  of  the  created  system,  it  is  not 
because  it  will  be  a  means  of  recovering  the  person  who 
commits  it  from  sm's  black  gidf,  tliat  God  cannot 
behold  evil ;  but  it  is  because  his  eyes  are  too  pure, 

*  Hab.  i.  13 


136  THE  NECESSITY  DISC.  IV. 

his  nature  is  too  holy  ;  and  hence  arises  that  impos- 
sibihty  predicated  of  him  by  that  Spirit  who  searcheth 
the  deep  things  of  God,  and  who  hath  revealed  them 
unto  us. 

It  is  the  very  nature  therefore  of  a  holy  Being  to  love 
holiness,  and  to  hate  moral  evil.  Holiness  has  an  in- 
trinsic beauty  and  attractiveness  which  merit  approba- 
tion and  honour  wherever  it  exists.  And  moral  evil 
has  an  intrinsic  deformity  and  loathsomeness ;  and  it 
deserves  to  be  abhorred  in  all  persons,  in  all  societies,  and 
in  all  worlds.  God  therefore  cannot  but  love  and  ap- 
prove holiness  ;  he  cannot  but  abhor  and  condemn  sin. 
Such  opposite  affections  must  give  existence  and  effect 
to  a  course  of  treatment  toward  each  as  opposite  as  the 
respective  affections  themselves.  Good  must  distinguish 
holiness,  penal  evil,  sin.  If  our  views  of  the  intrinsic, 
essential  difference  between  right  and  wrong,  sin  and 
holiness,  are  true,  how  a  perfectly,  essentially  holy 
Being,  whose  is  the  authority  and  the  power  to  take 
knowledge  of  all  moral  actions,  to  whom  it  belongs  to 
distribute  rewards  and  punishments,  can  avoid  mani- 
festing his  disapprobation  in  such  a  manner  as  shall  be 
suitable  to  the  actual  difference  between  sin  and  holi- 
ness, and  still  preserve  his  character  as  an  essentially 
holy  and  righteous  God,  and  continue  to  merit  that 
esteem  and  respect  which  nothing  but  such  a  character 
can  produce  in  his  own  mind,  as  well  as  in  that  of 
every  other  intelligence,  is  a  question  the  solution  of 
which  remains  yet  to  be  discovered.     Is  it  a  fit  subject 


DISC.  IV.  (IF  ATONEMENT.  137 

of  praise,  does  it  tend  to  exalt  iiim  in  the  esteem  of  in- 
telligent beholders,  that,  in  his  treatment  of  holy  and 
guilty  creatures,  God  should  manifest  a  due  regard  to 
their  mtrmsic  moral  worth,  is  a  question  exceedingly 
simple.  Its  correct  decision  asks  no  depth  of  learning. 
Let  it  be  referred  to  the  common  notions  of  right  and 
AVTong,  and  the  decision  will  be  at  once  pronounced. 
The  great  reason,  therefore,  wh)'  sin  cannot  pass  mi- 
punished  is  not  that  God  takes  pleasure,  as  if  he  were 
governed  by  a  spirit  of  malevolence  and  revenge,  in  the 
infliction  of  evil ;  but  that  the  infliction  of  evil  is  the 
becoming,  necessary  treatment  which  sin  in  its  own 
nature  desei-ves  at  the  hands  of  one  who  is  infinitely 
holy  and  just.  And  hence  it  is  that,  things  remaining 
unaltered,  such  treatment  must  continue  necessary  and 
unavoidable.  He  cannot  withhold  from  it  that  treatment 
without  becoming  indifferent  to  its  demerit.  Either  his 
nature  must  change,  or  the  nature  of  sin  must  change, 
or  he  must  continue  to  regard  it  with  displeasure  ex- 
pressed by  its  appropriate  penal  results. 

I  may  appear  to  do  injustice  to  your  understanding, 
hearers,  in  dwelling  upon  a  truth  so  obvious.  Nor 
would  I  have  delayed  your  attention  so  long,  did  not 
this  part  of  the  subject  possess  a  vital  importance  in  the 
discussion.  It  is  this  part  of  the  divine  character  which 
gives  the  utmost  annoyance  to  the  adversary  of  the 
atonement ;  and  here  I  would  look  for  the  well-head  of 
his  deep  and  dangerous  error.  And  but  too  many  of 
those  who  embrace  the  hope  of  the  cross,  have  rashly 
1.8 


13fe  THE  NECESSITY  DISC.  IV 

excluded  the  essential  holiness  and  rectitude  of  the 
divine  nature  from  all  influence  in  the  punishment  of 
sin  and,  by  consequence,  in  the  atonement.  They 
have  conceded  to  the  adversary  that  the  Divine  Being, 
in  his  treatment  of  sin,  is  governed  solely  by  a  regard  to 
the  external  creation.  The}^  have  forgotten  that  he 
has  his  own  proper,  eternal  principles,  essential  to  his 
nature,  to  guide  him  ;  and  that,  too,  independent  of  aU 
created  systems.  They  have  forgotten  that  he,  who  is 
infinitely  holy  and  righteous  in  his  own  being,  has  no 
need  to  make  inquiries  at  the  mouth  of  his  own  crea- 
tion, whether  sin  is  a  proper  object  of  his  expressed 
abhorrence,  or  whether  it  may  be  passed  by  as  a  thing 
entitled  to  impunity.  They  have  forgotten  that  such  a 
Being  has  his  OAvn  moral  perceptions  and  his  own  cha- 
racter and  honour  to  consult  and  to  vindicate,  as  well  as 
the  interests  of  the  created  system  ;  and  that,  while  the 
latter  is  in  most  perfect  harmony  with  the  former,  it  i^ 
in  comparisoJi  with  it  but  '•  as  the  small  dust  of  the 
balance."' 

I  proceed  to  state  a  second  moral  reason,  intimately 
connected  with  the  preceding,  why  sin  should  not  be 
permitted  to  pass  unpunished.  It  is  necessary,  as  the 
means  of  leading  intelligent  beings  to  reverence  and 
honour  God  as  a  Being  essentially  holy  and  righteous. 

If  the  holiness  and  righteousness  of  God  be  the 
foundation  and  source  of  that  exalted  moral  respect  and 
honour  which  his  intelligent  creatures  owe  him,  it  is 
necessary  that  this  part  of  his  character  should  be  made 


DISC.  IV.  OK  ATONEMENT.  139 

clear  to  their  perception.  It  is  necessary  that,  in  fact  at^ 
well  as  in  theory,  the  conviction  that  in  God's  dis- 
pensations it  is  well  with  the  righteous  and  ill  with  the 
wicked,  should  be  most  deeply  impressed.  They  must 
be  brought  to  know,  not  only  the  general  truth  that 
punishment  is  demanded  and  inflicted,  but  that  it  is 
demanded  and  inflicted  by  a  holy  Being,  and  be- 
cause HE  IS  HOLY.  The  naked  fact  of  the  suffering 
of  evil  by  an  evil-doer  would  not  be  sufficient.  The 
perception  of  this  bare  fact  would  inspire  fear  and  dread, 
not  esteem  and  reverence ;  because  it  could  not  be 
known  but  that  the  evil  witnessed  might  have  been 
produced  by  a  blind  physical  cause  destitute  of  moral 
principle.  It  is  only  when  the  beholders  know  that 
God  abhors  and  punishes  sin  because  he  is  a  holy  and 
a  righteous  Being,  and  because  sin  is  intrinsically 
deserving  of  this  expression  of  his  abhorrence,  that 
they  enter  into  the  divine  character,  that  they  adore, 
with  a  reverence  the  most  profound,  his  moral  purity, 
that  they  feel  an  inclination  to  serve  and  an  unwilling- 
ness to  offend  him,  and  that  they  perceive  the  intrinsic 
evil  of  sin,  and  experience  the  power  of  the  injunction^ 
•'  Ye  shall  be  holy,  for  I  the  Lord  your  God  am  holy." 
They  then  behold  this  exalted  part  of  his  character 
carried  out  in  a  perceptible  form,  and  in  contemplating 
it  their  hearts  receive  all  those  purifying,  elevating,  and 
transforming  impressions  which  become  tliem  as  hi'^ 
jTJoral  rre.Tture?. 


140  THE  NECESSITY  DISC.  IV. 

And  here  1  must  be  peniiitted  to  turn  your  attention 
towards  an  astonishing  defect,  under  which  the  views 
of  the  adversary  labour  in  regard  to  the  character  of 
God.  The  practical  evils  of  this  defect  are  strikingly 
visible  in  regard  to  the  point  of  which  I  am  at  this  mo- 
ment speaking.  By  some,  the  moral  purity,  or  holiness 
and  righteousness  of  God  is  entirely  rejected,  whilst 
with  others  we  find  the  words  but  not  the  attributes. 
With  these  God's  holiness  is  the  same  as  his  benevo- 
lence ; — all  is  benevolence — even  the  punishment 
which  he  inflicts.  Holiness  and  benevolence  are  thus 
confounded.  But  these  attributes  are  wholly  distinct 
in  their  aims,  and  they  lead  to  distinct  and  equally  im- 
portant views  of  the  Deity.  His  benevolence  is  his 
disposition  to  produce  the  happiness  of  his  creatures. 
It  contemplates  them  not  as  sinful,  or  as  holy  beings — 
Ijut  as  beings  capable  of  pleasure  or  pain.  So  far  as 
its  subjects  are  concerned,  the  removal  of  misery,  and 
the  enjoyment  of  happiness,  are  its  great  and  ultimate 
design.  Now,  will  the  hypothesis  of  the  adversary  that 
God  is  all  benevolence,  and  is  destitute  of  essential  ho- 
liness, bear  examination  ?  Let  us  for  an  instant  grantj 
that  in  dealing  with  sinful  beings  God  aims  only  at  the 
production  of  happiness.  What  will  be  the  impression 
made  on  the  minds  of  his  rational  creatures  in  regard 
to  himself?  Does  it  require  any  effort  to  see  that  his 
moral  worth,  with  respect  to  the  right  and  the  wrong 
of  things,  will  never  be  brought  into  view?  That  even 
the  pain  which  he  inflicts  will  not  be  in  demonstration 


DISC.   IV.  OP  ATONEMENT.  141 

of  his  own  holiness  and  righteousness  ; — it  is  but  the 
best  means  chosen  by  wisdom  for  attaining  the  end 
fixed  by  benevolence,  the  conferring  of  happiness? 
That  the  regard  of  the  beholders  will  not  be  founded 
in  moral  approbation  of  a  moral  principle,  the  purity  of 
God ;  that  it  will  be  only  the  simple  emotion  of  joy 
arising  from  the  gratification  of  the  native  desii'e  of 
happiness  ?  That  it  will  be  of  the  same  nature  with 
the  regard  felt  by  the  savage  for  the  fountain  which 
has  slaked  his  thirst,  or  for  the  sun  which  lights  him 
on  the  chase  ?  Can  such  a  view  of  God  purify,  elevate, 
ennoble  the  spectators  of  the  scene  ?  Can  this  teach 
them  to  regard  and  to  shun  sin,  as  in  itself  the  great- 
est of  evils? 

As  a  means,  therefore,  of  leading  intelligent  beings 
to  reverence  and  honour  God's  holiness,  and  righteous- 
ness, the  punishment  of  sin  seems  to  be  an  indispen- 
sable measure  in  his  administration. 

There  is  a  third  great  reason  which  renders  it  im- 
possible but  that  a  holy  and  just  Being  should  manifest 
his  displeasure  at  sin,  and  follow  it  with  penal  displays 
of  its  evil  nature.  Now  we  are  prepared  to  unite  with 
our  opponents  in  celebrating  the  praises  of  benevolence. 
We  contend  that  even  the  benevolence  of  God  demands 
that  sin  should  not  be  permitted  to  pass  unpunished. 

To  him  the  created  universe  looks  up  as  the  Parent 
of  eternal  hohness,  order,  and  well  being.  These  are 
to  be  found  and  enjoyed  only  in  subjection  to  God,  and 
in  perfect,  undeviating  obedience  to  his  laws.     That  he 


142  THE  NECESSITY  DISC.  IV. 

should  enforce  such  subjection  and  obedience  by  hold- 
ing the  transgressor  responsible  for  his  misdeeds,  and 
so  administering  his  government  as  that  sin  shall  not 
pass  unpunished^  is  required  by  the  best  interests  of  the 
created  system.  In  that  system  where  sin  does  not 
enter  but  at  the  peril  of  receiving  its  just  desert,  and 
where  holiness  ever  meets  the  smiles  of  the  purest  and 
best  of  Beings,  there  we  may  look  for  the  early  gro\vth 
and  the  ripe  fruits  of  the  noblest  endowments  of  rational 
existences.  There  each  creature  will  feel  the  influence 
of  the  strongest  motives  to  remain  within  its  own  pro- 
per orbit  relatively  to  itself — to  its  fellow-creature — to 
its  God. 

We  say  not  that  such  results  will  always  and  neces- 
sarily foUow  from  this  great  moral  fact.  The  lamenta- 
ble catastrophe  which  has  befallen  at  least  two  orders 
of  created  intelligences,  is  too  vividly  present  to  our 
minds,  and  too  deeply  felt  at  our  hearts,  to  permit  a 
thought  so  contrary  to  truth.  But  the  failure  is  in 
every  instance  evidently  to  be  traced  up  to  the  very 
principle  which  made  it  an  indispensable  feature  of  the 
divine  government.  What  is  the  government  of  God  ? 
It  is  his  dominion  over  free  moral  agents,  endowed  with 
a  sense  of  moral  obligation.  Before  them  he  has 
placed  right  and  wrong,  sin  and  holiness,  for  their  elec- 
tion. How  is  such  a  government  to  be  administered  ? 
It  is  to  be  administered  by  the  influence  of  motives. 
He  has  created  them  with  a  perfectly  holy  bias ;  he 
has  left  them  to  act  freely— to  choose  the  gootl — and  >o 


DISC.  IV.  OP  ATONEMENT.  143 

refuse  the  evil.  He  has  not  only  done  all  this,  but 
more.  He  has  encompassed  the  good  with  all,  that,  to 
a  moral  taste,  can  render  it  lovely,  attractive,  and 
worthy  of  all  approbation.  In  one  word,  he  has  made 
good  synonymous  with  heaven.  He  has  done  more — 
He  has  laid  open  the  loathsomeness  of  sm.  He  con- 
ceals not  his  own  abhorrence.  He  binds  to  it  his 
curse.  He  binds  to  it  a  train  of  penal  consequences 
which  present  it  in  a  form  not  only  hateful  but  terrific. 
In  one  word,  he  has  made  sin  synonymous  with  hell. 
Now  decide,  my  hearers,  under  such  a  system,  a  sys- 
tem founded  on  the  relations  of  free  moral  agents, 
could  a  holy  and  benevolent  Being  do  otherwise?  Can 
moral  agents  be  without  law  ?  Must  they  not  be  left 
to  act  from  motives?  Is  compulsion  admissible? 
And  where  law  is  to  be  obeyed,  where  sin  is  the  grand 
evil  to  be  avoided,  where  compulsion  is  inadmissible, 
where  motives  are  the  grand  springs  of  action — there 
every  dictate  of  reason — there  every  principle  of  be- 
nevolence, demands  that  sin  should  not  pass  unpu- 
nished. That  after  all  in  some  instances  the  good  is 
refused  and  the  evil  preferred,  is  a  phenomenon  which 
I  do  not  feel  myself  bound  to  explain.  It  presents  a 
difficulty  equally  pressing  to  every  system.  But  such  a 
government  being  once  established,  that  a  holy  and  a 
benevolent  Being  should  not  bring  the  moral  motives 
that  necessarily  flow  from  a  righteous  and  exact  distri- 
bution of  merited  punishments  among  the  guilty,  to 
bear  upon  the  vuinumbered  myriads  of  beings  whose 


144  THE  NECESSITY  DISC.  IV, 

choice  is  yet  to  be  decided,  and  upon  whose  decision 
are  suspended  character  and  glory,  and  heaven  and 
hell,  is  the  last  position  I  will  engage  to  believe  or  to 
defend.  The  created  universe  is  thus  made  a  gainer 
in  holiness  and  bliss  by  the  punishment  of  sin. 

I  have  thus  set  before  you  some  of  the  great  moral 
reasons  which  forbid  that  sin  should  pass  unpunished. 
Its  punishment  is  necessary,  whether  we  consider  it  as 
the  becoming  treatment  which  sin  merits  on  its  own  ac- 
count at  the  hands  of  a  holy  and  a  righteous  God,  or 
as  the  means  of  leading  intelligent  beings  to  form  just 
views  of  the  divine  character,  and  to  reverence  and 
exalt  him  as  essentially  holy  and  righteous,  or  as  one  of 
the  grand  measures  in  the  government  of  free  moral 
agents,  for  the  preservation  of  holiness,  order,  and  well 
being. 

To  this  reasoning  the  adversary,  so  far  as  I  know, 
opposes  but  one  objection  of  any  moment  ;  and 
when  it  has  been  stated  in  his  own  words,  my  hearers 
will  do  him  the  justice  to  say  that  it  is  entitled  to  se- 
rious consideration. 

"  Justice,"  he  says,  "  gives  the  right  to  punish,  but  it 
does  not  impose  an  obligation  to  exercise  this  right.  As 
God  has  an  undoubted  right,  it  would  always  be  just 
for  him  to  punish  transgressors,  but  it  does  not  follow 
that  he  is  obliged  to  do  it.  If  he  chooses  to  pardon  sin- 
ners on  certain  conditions,  or  unconditionally,  he  may 
do  it  without  any  violation  of  his  justice."  From  the 
whole  tenor  of  his  reasoning  it  is  evident  that  he  speaks 
of  justice,  in  its  absolute,  unqualified  form,  or  in  other 


DlaC.  IV,  OF  ATONEMENT.  145 

words,  of  punitive  justice.     Grant  me  leave  lo  s1ioa\ 
you  the  unsoundness  of  this  position. 

1.  "  God,"  it  is  said,  "  has  an  undoubted  right  to 
punish  the  transgressor."'  Here  we  are  entirely 
agreed,  and  we  rejoice  to  hear  so  frank  and  important 
an  acknowledgment.  But  how  does  this  acknowledg- 
ment comport  with  another  sentiment  expressed  by 
the  adversary  in  every  variety  of  form  ;  that  if  God  pu- 
nishes for  any  other  end  than  the  good  of  the  transgres- 
sor, he  ceases  to  be  just,  and  he  becomes  cruel  and  un- 
lovely. That  this  latter  position  is  an  egregious  falla- 
cy, will  be  presently  evinced.  But  in  the  objection 
which  we  are  now  examining,  it  is  acknowledged  that 
God  has  a  right,  an  unquahfied  right,  to  punish  the 
transgressor,  and  that  if  he  see  fit,  he  may  exercise  it. 
Can  that  be  cruel,  revengeful,  unamiable,  which  God 
has  an  undoubted  right  to  do  if  he  please  ?  Thus  by 
granting  that  God  has  a  right  to  punish,  the  adversary 
makes  a  perfect  surrender  of  all  liis  declamation  against 
punitive  justice. 

2.  "  Justice,''  it  is  said,  •  gives  the  right  to  punish, 
but  it  does  not  impose  an  obhgation  to  exercise  this 
right."  This  we  deny.  If  adequate  reasons  exist 
why  justice  should  be  executed,  they  carry  w  ith  them 
an  obligation  to  exercise  justice.  If  declining  to  punish 
the  offender  according  to  his  ill  desert  would  be  to  act 
contrary  to  his  essential  holiness  and  righteousness — 
would  be  to  overthrow  his  righteous  laws — would  lead 
intelligent  Ijeiiiffs  to  form  erroneous  conceptions  of  hi?^ 

19 


I4t>  THK  NECESSITY  1»1SC.  IV.- 

•  haractei' — would  be  to  encourage  moral  agents  in  the 
idea  that  sin  is  but  a  slight  evil  and  may  be  committed 
with  irnpiuiity — God  would  owe  it  to  himself,  and  he 
would  owe  it  to  the  created  universe,  to  exercise  the  right 
o\'  punishing.  He  could  not  be  a  holy,  a  just,  and  ] 
may  add  a  benevolent  God,  were  he  to  pardon  sinners 
unconditionally.  The  unconditional  pardon  of  sinners, 
therefore,  is  forbidden  by  the  strongest  considerations. 

3.  To  act  agreeably  to  his  holiness  and  justice,  in 
punishing  sin,  and  to  exercise  grace  in  the  forgive 
ness  of  siii,  cannot  be  conceived  to  be  equally  sovereign.- 
God  cannot  choose  to  be  holy  and  just,  or  not  holy  and 
just,  with  the  same  sovereignty  as  he  can  choose  to  be 
gracious  or  not  gracious.  Had  the  adversary  asserted 
that,  while  God  has  a  right  to  show  grace  to  the  unde- 
serving where  it  is  consistent,  yet  that  right  imposes  no 
obligation,  he  would  have  uttered  truth ;  for  the  very 
word  grace  shows  that  where  it  is  exercised  it  might 
justly  have  been  withheld.  But  this  is  far  from  being 
the  case  in  regard  to  holiness  and  justice.  God  can 
cease  to  show  grace,  but  he  cannot  cease  to  exercise  ho 
liness  and  justice.  These  are  always  necessary  and 
essential. 

1.  But  there  is  a  still  greater  absurdity  involved  m 
this  position.  It  makes  God's  pimishing  sin  perfectly 
arbitrary.  He  may  pmiish  it  or  not  as  he  pleases 
Let  us  suppose  that  he  should  exercise  his  right  and 
punish  the  transgressor.  In  this  case  he  acts  from  no 
lirand  controlling  reason  which  renders  it  necessary  to 


DISC.  IV.  OF  ATONEMENT.  147 

punish ;  for  then  the  principle  of  the  objection  would 
be  violated,  since  in  a  moral  sense  he  could  not  do  other- 
wise. The  case  would  then  involve  an  obligation  to 
punish — and  that  freedom  to  punish  or  remit  punish- 
ment, for  which  the  objector  contends,  would  be  de- 
stroyed. The  case  supposed  therefore  must  wholly  ex- 
clude the  question  of  right  and  wrong.  He  cannot 
act  from  that  regard  to  this  question  which  is  essential 
to  his  own  holy  nature.  He  exercises  the  right  to 
punish,  not  because  it  is  holy  and  just,  for  what  is  holy 
and  just  ought  to  be  done,  but  because  he  simply 
chooses  to  exercise  it.  As  far  as  any  great  reasons  ren- 
dering it  right  and  necessary  are  concerned,  he  might, 
have  refrained  from  punishing  the  transgressor.  Oi' 
course,  on  this  hypothesis  there  can  be  no  discovery  of 
his  own  moral  excellency.  We  do  not  see  in  it  that  he 
is  holy  and  just,  and,  as  the  scriptures  declare,  "of 
purer  eyes  than  to  behold  evil,"  and  ^-  unable  to  look 
upon  iniquity."'  We  behold  a  Being  possessed  only  ol 
sovereignty  and  exercising  sovereignty.  Hence  heif 
is  no  ground  for  moral  esteem  and  reverence.  How 
can  we  reverence  any  Being  as  holy  and  righteous,  who. 
in  a  case  which  directly  involves  the  whole  question  of 
right  and  wrong  with  reference  to  his  own  character, 
and  the  light  in  which  other  beings  are  to  regard 
him,  is  a  hberty  to  act  without  the  least  regard  to  it, 
and  who  does  in  reality  act  without  regard  to  it  ?  We 
never  can  approve  and  venerate  a  judge,  who,  in  his 
treatment  of  the  guilty,  claims  the  right  of  acting  in 


148  THE  NECESSITY  DISC.  IV. 

an  arbinary  manner;  who  feels  himself  at  liberty  to 
treat  the  guilty  as  if  he  were  innocent ;  and  who,  when 
lie  awards  and  inflicts  punishment,  does  it  not  because 
the  nature  of  the  case  requires  it  as  proper  and  una- 
voidable, but  because  he  chooses  to  exercise  a  right 
with  which  he  idly  imagines  himself  to  be  invested. 
We  should  at  once  pronounce  that  judge  destitute  of 
moral  principle,  and  deserving  universal  detestation. 

5.  Further,  if  we  say  that  God  can  as  well  forego,  if 
he  pleases,  punishing  the  transgressor,  as  exercise  the 
right  of  punishing,  we  absolutely  annihilate  the  right 
of  punishing.  On  this  hypothesis  punishment  is  un- 
necessary. God  can,  if  he  see  fit.  avoid  punishing 
without  injury  to  any  interest.  It  is  impossible,  on 
this  ground,  that  he  should  ever  punish  ;  and  this  pre- 
tended right  cannot  be  exercised  without  horrible  cru- 
elty. What !  will  a  benevolent  being  ever  determine  to 
inflict  evil  upon  a  sentient  creature,  when  there  are  no 
reasons  which  render  it  necessary  and  unavoidable? 
■  Has  he  not  testified  by  his  own  blessed  existence  that 
he  takes  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  sinner  ?  Will 
he  then  inflict  penal  evil  merely  for  its  own  sake? 
And  surely  it  will  be  for  its  own  sake,  if  he  can  as  well 
avoid  inflicting  it.  Who  does  not  immediately  perceive 
that  if  this  be  all  that  renders  punishment  necessary, 
God's  goodness  will  always  interpose  and  exclaim. 
"  This  penal  evil  need  not  be  inflicted — must  not  be 
inflicted.  Far  be  it  from  the  benevolent  and  just  God 
?o  put  his  creatures  to  poin  without  imperious  necessity 


DISC.  IV.  OP  ATONEMENT.  149 

To  inflict  it  without  necessity,  in  an  arbitrary  manner, 
is  unrighteous." 

If  the  unsoundness  of  this  position  were  not  aheady 
clear,  I  might  follow  out  this  argument,  and  show  that 
this  principle  destroys  the  grace  of  forgiveness.  But 
enough  has  been  said  to  prove  that  this  doctrine  of  the 
right  of  punishmg  or  not  punishing  is  fraught  with 
errour,  and  that  it  does  not  invalidate  our  previous  rea- 
soning. Those  great  moral  reasons  still  exist  and  ope- 
rate, and  they  forbid  that  sin  should  pass  unpunished. 

But  the  adversary  cannot  yet  in  justice  be  dismissed. 
He  advances  sentiments  respecting  the  great  end  of 
divine  punishment  for  which  he  is  accountable  at  the 
bar  of  truth.  It  is  important  that  those  sentiments 
should  be  heard  and  canvassed.  When  the  views  of 
both  parties  have  been  fairly  brought  forward,  it  will  be 
easy  to  compare  them,  and  to  form  a  judgment  ac- 
cordant Avith  reason  and  the  sacred  standard.  The  po- 
sition of  the  adversary  is  as  follows :  "  The  sole  and 
ultimate  end  of  God  in  punishing^  is  the  reforina- 
tion  and  happiness  of  the  offender.  Beyond  this, 
jninishnient  cannot  be  extended  without  its  becoming 
cruel  a7id  iinjiist.^^  It  follows,  hence,  that  the  repent- 
ance of  the  sinner  puts  an  end  to  punishment,  and  is 
immediately  followed  by  forgiveness  without  atone- 
ment. 

This  is  a  cardinal  principle  in  the  rational  system,  on 
the  question  of  man's  acceptance.  I  trust  that  a  few 
remarks  properly  directed  will  aid  you  in  discovering 


150  THE  NECESSITY  niSC.  IV. 

its  falsity.  I  commence  with  observing  that  natural 
evil  intlicted  upon  a  transgressor,  the  sole  and  ultimate 
end  of  which  is  his  reformation,  is  not  punishment.  It 
is  misnamed.  It  is  chastisement — paternal,  corrective 
discipline.  This  then  it  seems  is  all  the  penal  evil 
which  the  wicked  are  taught  to  expect.  God  cannot 
inflict  any  other  \vithout  incurring  the  charge  of  cru- 
elty and  injustice.  But  my  hearers,  the  holy  scriptures 
draw  a  broad  distinction  between  God's  paternal  chas- 
tenings,  of  which  his  children  are  the  subjects  when 
they  transgress  his  laws,  and  the  end  of  which  is  their 
reformation  and  happiness,  and  that  punishment  which 
he  will  finally  inflict  upon  his  incorrigible  enemies.  I 
submit  it  to  every  person  who  is  moderately  conversant 
Avith  the  holy  oracles.  Of  Judas  the  traitor,  the  Master 
said,  "  Good  were  it  for  that  man  if  he  had  never  been 
liorn."  Concerning  the  punishment  of  tlie  finally  con- 
demned, he  says,  "  Their  worm  dietli  not,  and  their  fire 
is  not  quenched."  "  There  is  a  sin  which  hath  never 
forgiveness,  neither  in  this  world,  nor  in  the  world  to 
come."  And  Dives  in  torment  is  described  as  being 
perfectly  convinced,  of  his  folly  by  the  punishment, 
which  he  endured ;  and  yet  he  was  told  that  a  transi- 
tion from  his  hell  to  Abraham's  bosom  was  impossible. 
According  to  the  principle  of  the  rationalist— liy  all 
this  we  are  to  imderstand  nothing  more,  than  that  Ju- 
das and  Dives,  and  other  incorrigible  enemies  of  God  are 
suffering  only  a  wholesome,  fatherly  discipline,  the  sole 
and  idtimate  end  of  which  is  their  reformation  and  hap- 


UF  ATONKMENl 


151 


()iiiess ;  and  yet  this  fatherly  discipHne  is  never  to  accom- 
phsh  its  object— this  discipUne  is  never  to  terminate ! 
Judas  is  never  to  see  the  moment  when  he  will  bless 
the  day  of  his  birth  !  Dives  will  never  escape  the  un- 
quenchable torment !  If  this  be  fatherly  discipline, 
what,  then,  must  be  the  pouring  out  of  God's  unmixed 
wrath ! 

This  position  is  also  wholly  irreconcilal)le  with  the 
scriptural  exliibition  of  the  principles  and  affections 
which  influence  all  true  penitents  in  turning  from  sin 
unto  God.  They  regard  their  sin  as  meriting  detesta- 
tion, and  calling  for  repentance,  not  so  much  on  the 
ground  of  its  interference  with  their  own  happiness  as 
on  the  ground  of  its  being  intrinsically  hateful,  and 
thus  deserving  God's  displeasure.  This  enters  essen- 
dally  into  the  penitent  emotions  ascribed  in  holy  scrip- 
ture to  the  humbled  offender.  Such  were  the  peni- 
tent emotions  of  David  when  he  exclaimed,  "  Against 
thee  and  thee  only  have  I  sinned,  and  done  this 
evil  in  thy  sight."  But  according  to  the  system 
under  discussion,  the  injury  which  the  offender  has 
drawn  down  upon  himself  by  his  sin,  and  the  re- 
moval of  which  can  be  God's  sole  end  in  punishing 
him,  should  also  be  the  sole,  great  end  of  his  contrition 
For  if  God  cannot  justly  punish  him  for  any  other  end 
than  his  reformation  and  happiness,  then  the  sole  evil 
which  the  transgressor  has  to  deplore,  is  the  ruinous 
bearing  of  his  crimes  upon  his  own  peace.  Why  should 
his  aim  in  repenting  of  sin  extend  in  the  slightest  de- 


J  6^  THE  NECESSITY  UISC.  iV- 

gree  beyond  God's  sole  ground  of  displeasure  and  pu- 
nishment ? 

Let  us  suppose  every  other  end  of  punishment,  sepa- 
rate from  the  holiness  of  God,  to  be  annihilated.  He 
does  not  now  punish  to  deter  othere  by  the  influence  of 
example,  nor  to  reform  the  sinner,  nor  to  impart  to  the 
intelligent  creation  the  idea  of  his  rectitude.  If  he  now 
punisli,  he  must  punish  l^ecause  his  own  holiness  and 
justice  dictate  and  demand  punisliment.  In  such  a 
case,  would  the  evil-doer  be  less  bound  to  feel  and  mani- 
fest the  most  profound  abasement  ?  The  rationalist  is 
compelled  to  reply  that  he  is  not  at  all  bound  ;  because 
in  such  a  case  God  cannot  be  displeased  with  him,  and 
he  cannot  evince  his  penal  displeasure  without  becoming- 
cruel  and  unjust.  Therefore  on  this  ground  the  sinner 
has  nothing  to  lament.  Why  should  he  lament  that 
for  which  God  cannot  evince  his  anger  without  becom- 
ing cruel  and  unjust?  Nay,  it  will  follow  on  tliis 
hypothesis  that  sin  against  God,  simply  as  such,  is  no 
moral  evil.  If  God  can  justly  punish  sin  solely  for  the 
end  of  the  sinner's  reformation  and  happiness,  then  it 
deserves  punishment  solely  as  connected  with  that  end  ; 
and,  therefore,  should  that  end  be  put  out  of  view,  no 
punishment  h  justly  deserved.  But  if  it  deserves  no 
punishment,  it  is  no  moral  evil ;  for  desert  of  jninish- 
tnerU  is  essential  to  our  notion  of  moral  evil.  And  it 
will  further  follow  from  this  system,  that  if  the  sinner 
could  only  escape  into  some  part  of  the  universe  where 
lie  might  avoid  destroying  his  own  happiness,  he  might 


LUSC.  IV.  Ob'  ATUi\EMEx\T.  lOCt 

glory  in  dishonouring  and  insulting  God,  witliout,  de- 
serving the  slightest  measure  of  divine  disapprobation. 
He  would  stand  encircled  by  a  magic  ring ;  and  from 
within  that  sanctuary  he  might  with  impunity  defy  the 
hohness  and  the  justice  of  the  Almighty.  God  could 
not  touch  him  without  becoming  cruel  and  unjust. 

Besides,  this  view  of  the  end  of  punishment  excludes 
the  essential  holiness  and  justice  of  God,  as  an  end, 
from  every  part  of  the  transaction.  Indeed  it  virtually 
denies  his  essential  hoUness  and  justice.  The  end 
assigned  for  the  punishment  of  sin  is  wholly  inde- 
pendent and  exclusive  of  these  attributes.  The  sole 
and  ultimate  end  is  the  reformation  of  the  offender. 
This  implies  that  were  it  not  for  the  reformation  of  the 
offender,  there  would  be  no  end  for  which  he  could 
justly  be  punished.  Should  God  express  his  penal  dis- 
pleasure against  his  sins,  as  intrinsically  meriting  such 
treatment,  with  the  view  to  exercising  and  vindicating 
his  own  holiness  and  justice,  and  supporting  the  honour 
of  his  own  government  as  an  end,  this  system  de- 
nounces him  as  a  cruel,  unjust  Being.  Do  not  my 
intelligent  hearers  clearly  perceive  what  must  follow? 
The  instant  we  overlook  the  inhierent,  essential  holiness 
and  rectitude  of  God,  as  exercised  in  the  punishment  of 
sin  for  their  own  excellency's  sake  as  an  end,  and  set 
up  other  ends  at  which  he  aims,  and  pronounce  them 
the  sole  and  ultimate  ends  for  which  sin  may  justly  be 
punished,  that  instant  we  virtually  deny  the  inherent 
holiness  of  the  Divine  Nature  and  the  intrinsic  demerit 
20 


J.54  THE  NECESSITY  DISC.  IV. 

of  sin.  We  imply  that  were  it  not  tor  those  other  ends 
which  exchisively  awaken  the  displeasure  of  God,  and 
oall  forth  its  penal  expression,  he  could  neither  hate  nor 
punish  sin. 

And  where  shall  we  find  rooin  lor  forgiveness  and 
grace,  if  the  reformation  of  the  transgressor  be  the  sole 
and  ultimate  end  of  punishment  I  What  punishment 
is  remitted  ?  W^hat  sin  is  forgiven  ?  Not,  surely,  that 
for  which  the  transgressor  is  punished.  Punishment 
for  that  he  has  endured  as  far  as  it  could  without 
cruelty  be  extended.  The  end  is  reformation  ;  and 
until  that  end  is  accomplished,  punishment  is  continued. 
In  regard  to  this,  it  is  absurd  to  say  that  any  part  of  il 
is  remitted.  Indeed  it  is  not  punishirient ;  it  has  no 
view  to  sin  as  such.  It  is  for  the  amendment  of  the 
offender  :  and  when  he  does  amend,  it  is  not  proper  to 
-say  I  have  punished  him,  but  I  have  corrected  and 
amended  him.  Nor  as  yet  has  any  thing  been  forgiven. 
If  there  be  any  sin  forgiven,  therefore,  it  must  be  some- 
thing independent  of  that  for  which  punishment  hat' 
been  inflicted.  It  must  be  something  for  which 
punishment  might  have  been  inflicted,  but  which  is 
graciously  remitted.  But,  hearers,  it  is  denied  that  God 
could  inflict  punishment  for  any  thing  beyond  the  sin- 
ner's reformation.  I  ask  again,  what  is  there  to  be 
tbrgiven  ?  Can  God  be  said  to  forgive  that  which  ii 
would  be  cruel  and  unjust  to  punish  ?  On  this  hypo 
thesis,  therefore,  it  is  evident  that  there  is  nothing  to  hv 


DltiC.  IV.  OF  .(\TOKF,MENT.  155 

forgiven.  Consequently  there  can  be  no  display  oj 
grace. 

This  view,  then,  of  the  end  of  punitive  justice,  which 
forms  the  very  essence  of  rationalism,  with  reference  to 
(he  terms  of  pardon,  is  altogether  irreconcilable  with 
our  fundamental  notions  of  the  Divine  Being.  It  con- 
founds the  broad  distinction  between  paternal  correction 
and  punishment ;  it  is  at  variance  with  the  true  scrip- 
tural grounds  of  repentance ;  it  involves  this  capital 
error,  that  sin  as  committed  against  God  is  no  moral 
evil.  It  proceeds  on  this  singularly  impious  assump- 
tion, that,  but  with  a  view  to  the  sinner's  good,  God 
ran  neither  hate  nor  punish  sin.  And  it  destroys  all 
room  for  the  exercise  of  pardoning  grace.  It  must 
therefore  be  rejected.  Urged  by  the  view  of  these  ab- 
surdities, we  are  compelled  to  pronounce  the  system 
unworthy  of  Iselief ;  and  we  discover  additional  reason 
to  stand  firm  in  the  faith  of  our  own  principles. 

The  punitive  justice  of  God  in  view  of  sin  has  now  I 
trust  been  amply  confirmed  and  vindicated.  It  follows 
from  all  that  has  been  advanced,  that  the  punishment 
of  sin  is  an  unavoidable  measure  in  the  divine  govern- 
ment. Punishment  must  of  necessity  be  inflicted  and 
i^uffered. 

Our  second  position  may  now  be  considered  as  being 
so  evident,  that  to  be  believed  it  needs  only  to  be  stated  : 
These  moral  reasons  which  require  the  punishmenl 
of  silly  render  the  atonpntent  vpcessary  in  nrdpv  to  it  a 

forS'ivP'itPSf;. 


156  THE  jVECESSITY  disc.  IV. 

From  wliat  has  been  advanced,  we  conceive  it  folloM> 
with  the  clearness  of  demonstration,  tliat,  on  the  sup- 
position that  God  in  his  adorable  mercy  has  purposed 
to  rescue  sinful  men  from  their  ruined  condition,  the 
jifracious  interposition  must  be  effected  in  such  a  way 
as  shall  be  entirely  harmonious  with  his  own  essential 
holiness,  and  with  the  largest  amount  of  well  being  in 
the  rational  creation.  In  other  words,  the  penal  mani- 
festation of  his  eternal  abhorrence  of  sin  must  form  an 
essential  constituent  in  that  measure  or  system  of  mea- 
sures whereby  his  merciful  purpose  toward  his  rebellious 
subjects  is  accomplished.  And  wliatever  answers  the 
ends  of  justice  with  respect  to  the  holy  nature  of  God. 
with  respect  to  the  production  of  adequate  perceptions 
and  affections  in  the  minds  of  intelligent  spectators,  and 
with  respect  to  the  maintenance  and  promotion  of  order, 
holiness,  and  happiness  in  the  moral  universe,  must  be 
a  suitable  ground  in  the  view  of  which  the  trnnsgressor 
may  be  forgiven.  In  such  a  case  his  bonds  may  be 
loosed,  and  he  may  again  be  raised  to  the  dignity  and 
bliss  whence  he  has  wilfully  fallen.  No  substantial 
reason  can  be  given  why  a  Being  infinitely  benevolent 
as  well  as  just,  who  has  been  pleased  to  ordain  the 
redemption  of  guilty  men,  should  not  when  the  ends  of 
justice  are  satisfied  remit  their  doom. 

And  these  ends  are  most  fidly  secured  in  the  atone 
ment  of  our  Almighty  Saviour.  By  his  own  compas- 
sionate and  voluntary  act,  and  in  accordance  with  the 
Fnlher's  eternal  and  sfracious  counsels,  he  placed  him 


DISC.   IV.  OF  ATONEMENT.  157 

self  in  the  humbled  state  of  entire  oneness  with  man's 
apostate  race.  By  thus  assuming  the  human  nature, 
not  for  himself,  but  for  human  beings,  he  also  assumed 
the  human  responsibihties.  The  reparation  due  to  the 
Most  High  and  Holy  in  the  behalf  of  his  rebellious 
brethren,  for  he  is  not  ashamed  to  call  us  brethren,  he 
rendered  by  his  obedience  unto  death.  The  sinner's 
guilt  was  thus  expiated  by  his  gracious  Mediator,  and 
the  perfections  and  government  of  God  were  vindicated 
even  more  gloriously,  than  if  divine  justice  had  taken 
its  direct  course  in  the  personal  punishment  of  the  of- 
fender. God  "  hath  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us  who 
knew  no  sin,  that  we  might  be  made  the  righteousness 
of  God  in  him."* 

With  an  efficacy  which  to  that  heart  which  contem- 
plates it  in  its  just  light  must  prove  irresistible,  the 
atonement  exhibits  God  as  a  Being  infinitely  holy  and 
righteous,  regarding  himself  as  supremely  worthy  of  the 
entire  homage,  love,  and  obedience  of  all  moral  ex- 
istences, whose  rectitude  is  such  that  he  can  give  no 
other  laws  than  those  which  are  founded  in  eternal  and 
immutable  right,  can  administer  no  other  government 
but  that  which  is  conducted  on  principles  of  justice  and 
judgment,  can  hold  no  communion  with  rational  beings 
who  are  unholy,  cannot  mark  sin  but  to  abhor  it,  and 
as  the  Sovereign  Ruler,  to  manifest  towards  it  his  abhor- 
rence,  cannot   pardon   it  without  bearing   testimony. 


158  THE  NECESSITY  DlUC.  IV. 

heard  with  astonishment  by  heaven,  eartli,  and  hell, 
that  it  is  an  endless  evil. 

And  what  inducements  does  the  atonement  hold  out 
to  moral  agents  to  esteem,  admii'e,  adore,  and  obey,  the 
Most  High  and  Holy  God,  and  to  persevere  in  this 
exalted  and  exalting  course  ?  As  the  attainment  of  a 
supreme  regard  for  holiness  and  nn  entire  detestation  of 
sin  must  produce  the  most  pure  and  enduring  happi- 
ness, what  measure  could  so  directly  and  so  powerfidly 
tend  to  promote  and  extend  the  highest  happiness  of  the 
created  system  as  the  atonement  ?  Which  system  will 
tend  more  efficaciously  to  check  the  career  of  sin,  to 
purify  the  universe,  to  stimulate  to  the  noblest  efforts  iu 
all  that  is  bhssful.  Godlike ;  that  system  which  views 
and  treats  sin  as  the  greatest  evil ;  an  evil  not  only 
affecting  the  well  being  of  the  creature,  but  levelhng  the 
foulest  reproach  at  the  ever  glorious  God ;  in  itself 
hateful,  and  deserving  and  demanding  the  execration 
of  all  upright  beings  in  every  light  in  which  it  can  be 
viewed  ;  or  that  system  which  regards  it  as  interfering 
only  with  the  happiness  of  those  who  commit  it,  and  as 
calling  for  penalty  solely  on  that  ground. 

The  essential  difference  between  the  two  systems  is 
that  the  one  exalts  the  good  of  creation  as  the  sole, 
great  end  of  God's  moral  administration  ;  thus  casting 
the  Deity  himself  wholly  into  the  shade ;  the  other 
gives  to  God  the  first  and  the  last  place,  and  exhibits 
him  as  making  himself  the  first  and  the  last  end  in  all 
his  works.     This  view  comprehends  all  secures  all: 


UI.-SC.  IV,  UF  ATONEMENT.  loU 

not  only  the  highest  happiness  of  the  creation,  which 
is  most  effectually  embraced  in  that  giand  end ;  but 
what  is  infinitely  above  and  beyond  it,  the  glory  and 
the  self- approbation  of  the  thrice-blessed  Jehovah.  We 
cannot  but  consider  the  opposite  system  as  contracted, 
derogatory  to  a  Being  of  infinite  purity,  overlooking, 
nay  annihilating,  the  independent,  immutable,  and 
eternal  difference  between  right  and  wrong ;  whilst  it 
is  the  glory  of  our  view,  that  it  upholds  the  morality  of 
things  in  its  fullest  extent ;  it  makes  holiness  something 
beyond  a  mere  accident,  an  empty  shadow  with  a  name; 
something  worth  desiring  and  maintaining  ;  that  it 
depicts  sin  in  its  genuine  character ;  that  it  measures 
the  true  value  of  objects  by  the  only  infallible  standard, 
the  holiness  of  God  ;  that  it  treats  every  being  according 
to  its  intrinsic  value  ;  that  it  gives  honour  where  honour 
is  due,  censure  where  censure,  penahy  where  penalty. 
And  out  of  the  whole  system  results  the  triumphant 
deUverance  of  unnumbered  immortal  beings  from  ever- 
lasting ruin ;  a  glorious  vindication  of  the  character 
and  the  throne  of  the  Most  High,  an  immoveable 
foundation  in  the  hearts  of  all  moral  intelligences  for 
supremely  reverencing  and  honouring,  and  worthily 
serving  and  obeying  God,  and  the  highest  amount  of 
well  being  to  those  portions  of  the  universe  to  which  the 
knowledge  of  man  extends. 

Humbling— profoundly  humbling  to  the  proud  heart 
of  man— is  the  tendency  of  these  principles,  we  grant ; 
but  we  are  deeply  persuaded  that  they  open  the  only 


i6U  THE  NKCESSITV,  ETC.  UlfcJC.  IV. 

access  to  our  Father's  house  on  high  with  all  its  happy 
mansions.  They  bring  poverty,  but  it  is  to  make  rich  ; 
they  woiuid,  but  it  is  to  heal ;  they  grieve  and  sadden 
the  heart,  but  it  is  to  bind  it  up  with  oil,  and  wine,  and 
balm  ;  they  destroy  the  soul,  but  it  is  to  save  the  soul ; 
they  annihilate  the  pride  of  all  flesh,  but  it  is  to  bring 
honour,  and  glory,  and  immortality. 


DlJ5lC(Uiii8E    V 


THE  EJNMI'fi  OF  THE  HUMAN  HEART  AGAIjVST  Tilt 
CHARACTER  AND  GOVERNMENT  OP  GOD. 


KuMANS  viii.  7. — "The  carnal  niiiid  is  enmity  against  Goil. 

In  whatever  manner  this  passage  rnay  be  translated, 
consistently  with  a  proper  regard  to  the  connexion,  and 
the  obvious  intention  of  the  writer  in  the  words  them 
selves,  it  clearly  refers  to  all  who  obey  the  propensities 
<i('  their  corrupt  nature,  instead  of  acting  from  those 
spiritual  principles,  or  aftections,  which  are  produced  in 
regeneration.  The  chief  design  of  the  apostle,  from 
the  beginning  of  the  chapter,  is,  to  illustrate  the  differ- 
ence between  chiistians,  as  renewed  and  excited  to  act* 
of  duty  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  mankind  in  their  natu- 
ral state,  or  anterior  to  those  gracious  operations  by 
which  the  heart  is  prepared  cheerfully  to  yield  itself  to 
the  influence  of  evangelical  motives.  By  the  carnal 
21 


102  THE  ENMITY  OF  THE  UltiC.  \  . 

miiid,  01  the  minding  of  the  fiesh,  then,  we  are  to 
understand  tliat  disposition,  or  state  of  the  moral  affec- 
tions, which  is  characteristic  of  all  unrenewed  meU; 
and  wliich,  amidst  all  its  modifications,  continues  with 
unabated  strength,  till  it  is  subdued  by  a  celestial 
energy.  This  disposition  is  declared  to  be  enmity 
against  God ;  of  so  maUgnant  a  nature,  that  he  regards 
those  who  are  the  subjects  of  it  with  utter  aversion,  and 
can  accept  none  of  their  services  ;  or  rather,  it  is  itself 
essential,  unmixed  hostility  to  the  moral  perfections,, 
designs,  and  acts  of  Jehovah.  The  abstract  form  of 
the  expression  gives  it  a  strength  and  emphasis  particu- 
larly worthy  of  our  attention.  It  resolves  all  the  moral 
aims  and  feelings  of  unregenerate  sinners  into  one 
dark  principle — opposition  to  their  Supreme  Ruler 
and  Judge. 

The  subject  of  the  ensuing  discourse  wiU  be  that 
which  this  ex})lanation  of  the  text  naturally  suggests  : 

The    ENMITY    OP    THE    HUMAN    HEART  AGAINST 

God. 
I  shaU 

I.  Notice  some  common  grounds  of  mistake  on 
this  subject ;  and 

II.  Adduce  more  direct  proofs  of  the  enmity  of 
the  unrenewed  heart  against  God. 

I.  Many  are  startled  at  the  announcement  of  such 
a  proposition  as  that  which  I  have  supposed  the  text  to 
contain  ;  and  are  ready  to  meet  it,  as  a  gross  libel  on 
human  nature.     Jt  is  proper,  therefore,  to  examine  the 


DISC.   V.  HUMAN'  HEART.  KTC.  H^rj 

grounds,  on  Av^hich  the  imagined  refutation  of  the  doc- 
trine rests,  before  we  proceed  to  a  more  particular  state- 
ment of  the  evidence  in  its  support. 

One  source  of  error  is  the  tendency  in  mankind  to 
confound  the  dictates  of  the  miderstanding,  in  reference 
to  the  divine  character,  with  the  spontaneous  testimony 
of  the  lieart.  In  christian  lands,  they,  who  admit  the 
existence  of  God,  generally  agree  in  affirming  that  he 
is  a  Being  of  infinite  perfection ;  and  few  will  directly 
charge  him  with  weakness,  folly,  and  injustice.  It  is, 
moreover,  commonly  allowed,  that,  as  the  Anthoi-  of  all 
happiness,  he  is  entitled  to  our  gratitude  ;  and  that  to 
hate  him,  must  be  a  proof  of  the  most  finished  depra- 
vity. But  it  is  illogical  hence  to  conclude,  tliat  the 
hearts  of  men  really  approve  of  his  character,  or  that 
they  are  not  wholly  opposed  to  those  attributes,  which 
constitute  his  peculiar  glory.  Nothing  is  more  common 
than  a  direct  contrariety  between  the  decisions  of  the 
judgment,  and  the  all-controlling  determinations  of 
appetite  and  passion.  Reason,  in  a  multitude  of 
instances,  has  little  to  do,  either  with  our  preferences  or 
our  aversions. 

"  I  know  the  right,  and  I  approve  it  loo ; 
I  see  the  wrong,  and  yet  the  wrong  pursue." 

The  drunkard,  in  his  sober  moments,  knows  full 
well  that  "wine  is  a  mocker,  and  strong  drink  is 
ragring :"  and  yet,  goaded  on  by  a  resistless  appetite^ 


164  THK  ENMITY  OF  THE  DISC,   V. 

he  continues  to  press  to  his  bosom  the  fell  enemy,  whosr 
embrace  is  death  and  perdition. 

Men  may  be  unconscious  of  their  opposition,  and 
hence  infer  that  it  has  no  existence.  This  argument 
is  inconclusive,  because  the  want  of  consciousness,  in 
these  instances,  may  be  explained,  without  supposing 
such  a  blameless  heart,  as  it  is  alleged  to  prove.  01 
all  the  errors  of  mankind,  none  perhaps  are  so  frequent 
.IS  ihose  which  have  respect  to  themselves,  and  their 
character.  Many  circumstances  may  conspire  to  con- 
ceal from  the  observation  of  sinners,  that  enmity 
againsi  God  which  really  exists  in  their  breasts.  A 
secret  infidelity,  by  which  the  divine  perfections  are 
either  wholly  hidden,  or  viewed  through  a  distorted 
medium,  or  dimly  descried,  like  objects  seen  in  the 
distant  horizon,  may  serve  to  prevent  the  risings  of  an 
opposition,  which,  in  sensible  contact  with  the  high 
attributes  of  the  Divinity,  would  manifest  itself  with 
uncontrollable  violence.  The  generaUty  of  impeni- 
tent men  are  evidently  without  any  habitual  and  strong 
impression  of  the  reality  of  the  divine  existence  ;  and. 
therefore,  their  enmity,  though  fixed  and  entire,  hag 
little  opportunity  to  exhibit  itself  to  their  perception,  in 
the  shape  of  direct  resistance.  The  most  violent  anti- 
pathy would  be  apparently  allayed,  should  the  hated 
object  assume  to  the  mind  the  form  of  a  phantom,  01 
be  but  imperfectly  discovered  through  the  mists  of  un- 
certainty. Revenge  itself  is  satisfied,  when  its  victim 
is  onnreived  to  be  bevond  its  reach-  -the  tenant  of  the 


ruse.  V.  HUMAN  HEART,  ETC.  165 

grave,  and  the  nutriment  of  the  worm.     Who  would 
contend  with  a  shadow  ?     Opposition  may  also  be  kept 
in  check  by  a  sense  of  imbecihty  on  the  part  of  him 
by  whom,  it  is  indulged,  and  of  resistless  power  in  an 
adversary.     The  omnipotence  of  God,  and  the  hope- 
lessness of  resistance  to  his  will,  are  truths,  which  imme- 
diately press  upon  the  mind,  when,  acting  intelligently, 
it  would  prepare  itself  for  a  conflict  with  him.     The 
sinner's  high  imaginings  are   prostrated.     He  sinks, 
terrified    and    abashed,    into    his    own    nothingness. 
'•  Through  the  greatness  of  thy  power  shall  thine  ene- 
mies submit  themselves  unto  thee."     This  conscious 
impotence,  and  pretended  subjection,  however,  are  no 
sure  indications  of  a  heart  truly  friendly  to  the  Most 
High,  but  may  exist  in  connexion  with  the  most  deter- 
mined aversion  to  the  glories  of  his  nature  and  govern 
ment.     Give  to  the  sinner  the  means  of   successful 
opposition,  and  then  his  disposition,   with   respect  to 
God,  will  begin  to  exert  itself,  unawed  and  unrestrained. 
And  can  any  unconverted  man  say,  that  did  its  support 
or  ruin  depend  upon  his  will,  he  is  absolutely  certain  the 
throne  of  Heaven  would  be  safe  ?     Mere  inconsidera- 
tion  and  carelessness  may  keep  the  sinner  in  ignorance 
of  the  interior  operations  of  his  depravity,  as  they  may 
hinder  his  notice  of  nearly  all  that  passes  in  the  retired 
recesses  of  that  world  of  wonders — his  own  soul.    False 
views  of  the  divine  character,  gratifying  to  pride,  indo- 
lence, or  attachment  to  created  good,  may  soothe  and 
i-omfort  the  most  deadly  enmity,  whifh  it  is  possible 


166  THE  ENMITY  OF  THE  DISC.  V. 

should  exist  in  the  heart  of  any  creature,  to  the  hoh- 
ness,  and  righteousness,  and  sovereignty,  of  God. 

The  homage  of  external  respect  which  is  paid  by 
many  sinners  to  religion  and  its  institutions,  may  be 
alleged  as  an  evidence  that  they  are  not  enemies  to 
their  Maker.  In  this  objection,  the  force  of  education 
on  beings  naturally  imitative,  the  power  of  conscience, 
which  is  the  property  alike  of  all  intelligent  creatures, 
the  beneficial  influence  of  christian  institutions  even 
on  the  aflairs  of  the  world,  the  love  of  human  estima- 
tion, the  energy  of  servile  fear  in  impelling  the  conduct 
contrary  to  the  strongest  biases  of  the  will,  and  the  un- 
tiring activity  of  a  self-righteous  spirit,  are  altogether 
overlooked ;  for  these  are  sufficient  to  account  for  all 
the  religion  of  unregenerate  men,  without  supposing 
them  to  be  actuated,  in  a  single  instance,  by  right  affec- 
tions towards  God.  All  their  apparent  friendship,  under 
their  present  circumstances  of  probation  and  hope,  is 
entirely  consistent  with  real,  deep,  and  permanent 
enmity.  It  never  has  been,  it  never  can  be  proved, 
that  they  serve  God,  or  manifest  regard  for  his  word 
and  ordinances,  from  any  higher  motive  than  selfish- 
ness. Their  show  of  religion  then,  notwithstanding, 
they  may  be  at  heart  the  enemies  of  God. 

Nor  is  the  glow  of  imaginary  love  to  the  Divine 
Being,  which  is  sometimes  felt  by  imconverted  men. 
any  proof  that  they  are  not  his  enemies.  They  may 
form  erroneous  conceptions  of  his  character,  con t em- 


biSC.  V.  HUMAN  HEART.  ETC.  167 

(Dlatiiig  him  as  devoid  of  all  those  attributes  which  are 
terrible  to  the  unholy,  or  as  their  particular  friend,  by 
whom  they  have  been  forgiven,  and  will  be  exalted  to 
eternal  happiness  ;  and  with  such  a  view  of  God,  they 
may,  while  utterly  unreconciled  to  him,  feel  the  fervours 
of  a  selfish  complacency  in  the  weak,  accommodating, 
partial  creatvire  of  their  own  imagination.  True  love 
to  any  being  implies  friendship  to  him  in  the  attributes 
Avhich  he  actually  possesses  ;  and  that  regard,  which  is 
exchanged  for  disgust,  so  soon  as  his  real  qualities  are 
discovered,  has  clearly  no  other  foundation  than  the 
fancy.  In  judging,  tlien,  of  the  dispositions  of  men 
towards  the  Most  High,  we  must  observe  their  feehngs, 
as  elicited  by  the  manifestations  of  his  true  nature,  and 
the  conduct  of  his  government,  instead  of  tracing  the 
operations  of  their  minds,  under  the  predominating  con- 
trol of  opinions  which  have  been  generated  by  their 
own  fond  conceit.  The  most  sordid  and  malignant 
bemgs  may  conceive  of  a  God,  to  whom  their  hearts 
would  feel  no  repugnance;  and  devils  themselves  would 
praise  Jehovah,  should  they  believe  him  disposed  to 
espouse  their  cause,  m  opposition  to  the  honour  of  his 
law,  and  the  paramount  claims  of  his  holy  kingdom. 
A  community  of  rebels,  retaining  and  justifying  the 
spirit  that  prompted  them  to  array  themselves  in  the  atti- 
tude of  hostile  defiance,  would  cease  to  complain  of  a 
government  that  should  vindicate  their  lawless  acts, 
employ  all  its  energies  for  their  protection,  or  permit 


168  XHK  KNMITY  OF  THK  Disc.   V. 

itself  to  be  trampled  under  foot  in  accommodation  to 
their  proud  wishes  and  san2;uinary  struggles  for  do- 
minion. 

The  social  sympatliies  and  the  decencies  of  life, 
which  are  commordy  found  in  countries  blessed  by  the 
lights  of  civilization  and  Christianity,  are  regarded  hy 
many  as  proofs  of  some  innate  sparks  of  goodness,  and 
consequently  of  some  relics,  some  elements,  of  pure 
love  to  God  in  the  soul  of  man.  The  mistake  in  this 
reasoning  arises  from  confounding  mere  instincts,  and 
the  refinements  of  enlightened  self-love,  with  real  bene- 
volence ;  and  from  overlooking  that  systeni  of  restraints 
Avhich  Divine  Providence  is  pleased  to  employ  as  essen- 
tial to  a  dispensation  of  mercy.  A  sufficient  evidence 
of  the  radical  deficiency  of  tliese  social  virtues,  useful 
and  necessary  as  they  are  in  a  world  hke  this,  is,  that 
they  may,  and  often  do  exist,  in  conjunction  with  mani- 
fest indifference,  or  open  opposition  to  any  practical 
acknowledgment  of  God,  to  the  duties  of  the  sabbath, 
and  all  acts  of  worship.  Many  a  polite  and  even  hu 
mane  man  would  blush  more  deeply  to  be  found  on  his 
knees  in  prayer,  than  to  be  seen  at  the  gaming  table,  or 
the  race  ground ;  and  would  covet  the  name  of  a  de- 
bauchee and  a  duellest,  rather  than  that  of  a  saint. 
But  how  can  that,  which  is  consistent  with  a  contemptu- 
ous disregard  of  all  rehgion,  imply,  or  have  any  ten- 
dency to  promote,  love  to  God?  Did  the  common 
principles  of  humanity  include  that  virtue  which  em 


DISC.  V.  HUMAN  HEART,  ETC.  16^ 

braces  the  Divine  Being  in  its  regards,  they  would 
never  be  found,  in  any  degree,  disconnected  from  a  cor- 
respondent reverence  of  the  attributes,  word,  and  wor- 
ship of  God.  "  Ye  shall  know  them  by  their  fruits. 
Do  men  gather  grapes  of  thorns,  or  figs  of  thistles? 
Even  so  every  good  tree  bringeth  forth  good  fruit ;  but 
a  corrupt  tree  bringeth  forth  evil  fruit.  A  good  tree 
cannot  bring  forth  evil  fruit,  neither  can  a  corrupt  tree 
bring  forth  good  fruit.'' 

I  have  thus  noticed  the  more  common  objections  to 
the  doctrine  of  this  discourse.     I  proceed 

II.   To  adduce  more  direct  proofs  in  its  support. 

1.  The  native  enmity  of  the  human  heart  against 
God  may  be  inferred  from  its  entire  selfishness.  The 
existence  of  those  instincts,  which  are  sometimes  deno- 
minated the  Ijenevolent  propensities  of  our  nature,  is,  I 
have  already  remarked,  perfectly  consistent  with  the 
supposition,  that  man,  while  unrenewed,  seeks  his  own 
interest,  in  some  of  its  forms,  as  the  supreme  object  of 
his  pursuit.  Much  of  what  is  accounted  generous  and 
disinterested  in  his  conduct,  is  done  with  an  eye  imme- 
diately and  solely  directed  to  his  own  advantage ;  and 
those  attachments  and  disgusts,  which  have  least  ap- 
parent connexion  with  sinister  motives,  can  be  shown, 
in  a  multitude  of  mstances,  to  result  from  no  higher 
source  than  self-love.  Thus  our  family,  our  neigh- 
bourhood, our  church,  our  country,  may  be  loved  in- 
tensely and  with  a  disposition  to  make  personal  sacri- 
fices for  their  welfare,  merely  because  they  are  ours  ;  as 
22 


170  THE  ENMITY  OP  THE  DfSC.  V. 

we  may  Ije  ready  to  forego  some  pleasures,  lor  the  sake 
of  others  which  we  deem  more  vahiable,  or  from  regard 
to  the  permanent  advancement  of  our  interests.  A 
complete  evidence  that  self-preference  is,  after  all,  the 
master-passion,  is  found  in  the  fact,  that  the  utmost 
strength  of  natural  affection,  and  of  constitutional  or 
acquired  tenderness,  may  be  overcome  by  selfish  claims 
of  an  opposite  character :  the  calls  of  appetite  and  pas- 
sion will  make  the  affectionate  father  reckless  of  the 
wants  and  miseries  of  his  children ;  a  sense  of  injury 
will  extinguish  every  emotion  of  kindness  in  a  friend, 
and  rally,  for  the  fearful  onset  of  revenge,  those  very 
sensibilities  which  had  loved,  and  wept,  and  condoled, 
and  comforted.  Indeed,  the  more  popular  philosophy 
has  maintained  it  as  a  principle,  that  ultimate  regard  to 
self  is  the  grand  law  of  our  being,  whence  originate 
all  the  virtues,  as  well  as  all  the  moral  disorders,  of  our 
species  ;  and  the  very  notion  of  disinterested  goodness 
has  been  ridiculed,  as  the  perfection  of  extravagance  and 
folly.  If  it  be  so,  love  to  God.  regarded  in  the  high 
character  of  the  Legislator,  Judge,  and  Sovereign  of  the 
universe,  is  impossible.  He  clearly  does  not  act  with 
ultimate  reference  to  the  good  of  individuals,  separate 
from  the  general  system  ;  his  beneficence,  in  particular 
cases,  is  regulated  and  restrained  by  his  respect  to  the 
higher  demands  of  universal  being ;  and  it  is  his  re- 
vealed purpose  to  sacrifice  all  that  is  dear  to  the  incor- 
rigible sinner's  lieart,  in  subserviency  to  the  great  ends 
'tf  public  justice,  the  honour  of  the  Godhead,  and  the 


DISC.  V.  HUMAN  HEART,  ETC.  171 

lasting  security,  the  ever  growing  triumphs,  of  the 
kingdom  of  righteousness.  It  is  the  unchangeable 
determination  of  Jehovah,  that  rebels  shall  repent, 
and  sulimit  to  his  merciful  proposals  in  the  gospel,  or 
eternally  perish  ;  and  he,  moreover,  asserts  it  as  his  right, 
to  select  whom  he  pleases  for  hohness  and  heaven,  and 
leave  whom  he  will  to  the  hopeless  consequences  of 
their  own  guilty  choice.  Against  requisitions  and  facts 
like  these,  selfishness  rises,  exasperated  and  alarmed. 
AH  its  fond  complacency  in  a  goodness,  which  it  ima- 
gined to  be  bent,  with  immutable  energy,  toward  the 
accomplishment  of  its  wishes,  is  turned  into  implacable 
hate  against  a  power,  resolved  to  frustrate  all  its  sordid 
designs,  and  scatter  its  most  cherished  hopes  to  tho 
winds.  It  can  love  nothing,  it  can  repose  on  nothing, 
which  IS  not  believed  to  secure  to  itself  the  peculiar 
gratifications  it  covets.  In  the  same  proportion  as  it 
sees  its  plans  thwarted,  itself  condemned,  and  exposed 
to  endless  wretchedness,  its  enmity  is  roused  against  the 
Being  by  whom  its  punishment  has  been  decreed.  It 
is  the  very  nature  of  selfishness  to  aim  at  the  subjection 
of  all  beings  and  events  to  its  will,  and  to  resist,  with  its 
whole  moral  and  physical  force,  whatever  opposes  its 
favourite  objects.  As  the  impenitence  of  the  sinner  is 
sustained  by  all  the  feelings  and  the  full  choice  of  his 
soul,  and  as  his  happiness,  while  he  continues  impeni- 
tent, is  rendered  impossible  by  all  the  maxims  of  the 
divine  government,  so  he  will  not  fail  to  cherish  the 
'trouffest  aversion  to  those  maxims,  nnd  consequently 


172  (  THE  ENMITY  OF  TftE  DISC.  Y. 

a  profound  and  determined  dislike  of  I  he  jgrlorioiis  cha- 
racter of  their  Author. 

2.  The  enmity  of  the  human  heart  against  God  is 
manifest  from  the  erroneous  and  preposterous  views, 
which  have  been  commonly  entertained  by  mankind, 
respecting  his  character  and  government. 

Look  first  at  those  destitute  of  the  light  of  revelation. 
Nature  itself  affords  evidence,  sufficient  to  satisfy  every 
candid  and  pure  mind,  of  the  existence  of  one  invisible, 
almighty,  and  all-wise  Creator ;  this  is  commonly  ad- 
mitted, and  even  strenuously  maintained,  though  with 
no  friendly  design  toward  revealed  religion,  by  deists; 
themselves  ;  and  it  is  most  plainly  affirmed  in  the 
scriptures  :  "  For  the  invisible  things  of  him  from  the 
creation  of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood 
by  the  things  that  are  made,  even  his  eternal  power 
and  Godhead  ;  so  that  they  are  Avithout  excuse.  And 
hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men  for  to  dwelj 
on  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  hath  determined  the  times 
before  appointed,  and  the  bounds  of  their  habitation  : 
that  they  should  seek  the  Lord,  if  haply  they  might 
feel  after  him,  and  find  him,  though  he  be  not  far  from 
every  one  of  us  ;  for  in  him  we  Uve,  and  move,  and 
have  our  being."'  It  is  also  to  be  recollected,  that  God 
originally  revealed  himself  to  the  human  race ;  and  that 
traditional  traces  of  his  supernatural  communication? 
to  mankind  have  been  preserved,  with  different  degrees 
of  distinctness,  among  all  nations.  Under  all  these 
advantaffes.  united  often  with  all  that  is  ennoblinij  in 


DISC.'V.  HUMAN  HEART,  PTC.  173 

science,  and  splendid  in  the  exertions  of  genius,  what, 
we  are  prompted  to  ask,  have  been  the  advances  of  the 
human  mind  in  the  knowledge  of  the  common  Father 
and  Benefactor  of  men  ?  What  researches  has  it  made 
m  the  regions  of  that  truly  divine  philosophy,  which 
unfolds  the  attributes  of  the  Eternal  Source  of  exist- 
ence and  felicity,  and  determines  the  relations  and 
duties  of  creatures  to  their  God  ?  Truly  we  might  have 
anticipated  some  glorious  discoveries,  some  etherial 
visions,  embodied  in  lasting  forms  of  truth  and  beauty, 
and  fit  almost  to  be  associated  with  the  purified  con- 
ceptions of  angelic  spirits  ;  a  worship,  at  once  humble 
and  elevated  ;  and  a  standard  of  morals,  captivating  all 
hearts,  like  that  holy  code  which  attracts,  and  binds,  in 
indissoluble  love  and  blessedness,  the  cherubim  and 
seraphim  in  the  upper  temple.  But  what  is  the  testi- 
mony of  facts  on  this  subject  ?  It  is  plain,  from  all 
history  and  observation,  that  mankind  have  no  dispo- 
sition to  employ  to  any  good  purpose  the  means  they 
enjoy  for  the  acquisition  of  divine  knowledge ;  they 
have  shut  their  eyes  against  that  light  which  their 
Maker  has  poured  around  them,  have  closed  their  ears 
against  that  voice  of  majesty  and  love  which  breaks 
forth  from  all  his  works,  and  have  exalted  senseless 
shapes,  ideal  beings,  equally  odious  and  contemptible, 
to  the  honours  due  only  to  Him  who  made  and  governs 
the  universe.  The  profoundest  disquisitions  of  the 
schools  have  left  the  human  mind  shackled  with  all 
♦he  fetters  of  superstition,  or,  releasing:  it  from  vulffav 


174  THE  ENMITY  OF  THE  DISC.   V. 

error,  have  conducted  its  rash  descent  into  the  reahns  of 
universal  doubt  or  cheerless  atheism.  Not  a  single 
philosopher  has  known  God,  or,  knowing  him,  has  had 
the  magnanimity  to  direct  the  erring  steps  of  men  to 
the  footstool  of  his  mercy.  Speculative  "gorgons, 
hydras,  and  chimeras  dire,"  have  haunted  the  groves  ol 
wisdom  and  the  hill  of  science,  no  less  than  the  abodes 
of  unlettered,  savage  ignorance.  The  religious  rites  of 
the  great  body  of  mankind  have  been  degrading  and 
impious,  as  the  objects  of  their  religious  veneration 
were  impure  and  cruel.  It  is  not  possible  to  account 
for  this  universal  propensity  to  the  most  disgusting 
superstition — this  agreement  among  the  learned  and  the 
unlearned  to  elevate  stocks,  and  stones,  and  devils,  to 
the  throne  of  the  Almighty,  while  his  authority  and 
his  goodness  are  alike  contemned — on  any  other  sup- 
position than  that  of  an  utter  aversion,  in  the  unsancti- 
fied  human  heart,  to  his  character  and  worship.  "  And 
even  as  they  did  not  like  to  retain  God  in  their  know- 
ledge, God  gave  them  over  to  a  reprobate  mind,  being 
filled  with  all  unrighteousness." 

Look  next  at  those,  who  sit  under  the  sunshine  of 
the  gospel.  Do  we  not  observe  among  nominal  chris- 
tians a  strong  tendency  to  error  and  infidelity  ?  To 
say  nothing  of  the  direct  attacks,  which  have  often  been 
made  by  the  press,  on  Christianity  and  its  institutions,  i( 
cannot  be  forgotten,  that  comparatively  little  of  the 
popular  literature  of  the  world  is  free  from  the  infection 
of  a  loose  theology  and  practical  unbelief.     The  very 


DISC.  V.  HUMAN  HEART,  ETC.  I/O 

champions  of  levelation  liave  not  seldom  been  found 
among  the  most  decided  adversaries  of  evangeUcal  doc- 
trines ;  talents,  station,  rank,  and  influence,  even  when 
affecting  respect  for  the  gospel,  have  too  generally  con- 
descended to  array  themselves  against  all  which  it  con- 
tains, humbhng  to  the  pride  of  man  and  honourable  to 
God.  The  endless  diversities  of  opinion,  among  those 
who  bear  the  christian  name,  have  furnished  infidels 
with  one  of  their  most  vaunted  arguments  against  all 
religion,  and  have  proved  conclusively,  either  that  the 
bible  is  too  unintelligible  to  be  of  divine  origin,  or  that 
it  is  criminally  neglected,  or  that  the  hearts  of  men  are 
averse  to  the  admission  of  its  grand  peculiarities.  And 
what  is  the  fact  ?  Does  error  spring  from  deficiency  of 
evidence  ?  Is  there  not,  in  the  arguments  by  which 
the  scriptures  are  proved  to  be  divine,  a  variety,  an 
amphtude,  adapted  to  carry  conviction  to  every  mind, 
not  stupified  by  passion,  or  rendered  impenetrable  by 
prejudice  ?  They  never  have  been,  they  never  can  be, 
undermined  or  shaken.  And  as  it  regards  the  general 
features  of  the  system,  which  the  bible  has  inculcated, 
is  it  not  a  reflection  on  the  wisdom  of  him  from  whom 
it  emanated,  and  subversive  of  the  very  design  of  its 
promulgation,  to  say  that  it  cannot  be  satisfactorily 
ascertained,  by  any  diligence  of  research,  united  with 
candour  of  mind,  and  purity  of  moral  feeling  J  Radical 
error,  in  one  v;ho  apphes  himself  to  the  study  of  the 
sacred  records,  cannot  arise  from  any  want  of  perspi- 
cuity in   them,  but  must  be  the  offspring  of  a  heart 


176  THE  ENMITY  vb   TllK  DISC.  V. 

hostile  to  that  Being,  who  has  impressed  upon  the  gos- 
pel the  image  and  superscription  of  his  own  glory. 
The  conclusion  cannot  be  evaded,  but  by  assuming  at 
once  all  the  monstrous  dogmas  of  infidelity.  "  And 
this  is  the  condemnation,  that  light  is  come  into  the 
world,  and  men  loved  darkness  rather  than  light, 
because  their  deeds  were  evil.  For  every  one  that 
doeth  evil  hateth  the  light,  neither  cometh  to  the  light, 
lest  his  deeds  should  be  reproved." 

3.  The  general  conduct  of  mankind  with  respect 
to  God,  as  well  as  their  love  of  error  in  rehgion,  proves 
the  enmity  of  their  hearts  against  him. 

Our  weakness,  our  dependence,  our  common  mer- 
cies, our  rehgious  privileges,  and  all  the  circumstances 
of  our  earthly  existence,  conspire  to  press  upon  our 
notice  his  perfections,  and  the  reasonableness  of  a  perpe- 
tual acknowledgment  of  him  as  our  Supreme  Benefac- 
tor. How  is  it  possible  to  be  unmindful  of  his  uni- 
versal presence  and  sustaining  power  ?  Possible  surely 
it  would  not  be,  did  there  remain  within  us  one  filial 
sentiment  toward  God.  What  then  must  be  the  con- 
clusion, concerning  the  actual  dispositions  of  mankind? 
We  know,  for  all  we  witness  assures  us  of  the  fact,  that 
the  inspired  description  is  not  overdrawn,  "  God  is  not 
in  all  their  thoughts."  Every  trifle  can  engross  the 
mind  ;  but  a  place  within  it  can  scarcely  be  found  for 
high  and  holy  musings  on  the  adorable  attributes  of 
him  by  whom  it  was  made.  He  displays  his  glory,  he 
speaks  in  the  whispers  of  his  mercy,  and  in  the  awful 


OldC.    V.  HUMAN  HEART,  ETC.  177 

tliunders  of  his  displeasure ;  yet  man,  obduiaie  and 
infatuated,  sees  not,  hears  not,  relents  ndt.  The  scrip- 
tures are  neglected,  or  read  only  as  the  record  of  curioiis 
facts,  a  fit  subject  for  the  exercise  of  critical  skill,  with 
a  disregard  of  practical  results  which  would  be  hlamea- 
ble  m  a  student  of  Cicero,  or  with  the  fierceness  of  a 
controversial  spirit,  which  tramples  on  all  authorities 
that  would  impede  its  march,  and  wrests  the  very  testi- 
mony of  God  to  tlie  subversion  of  itself  and  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  his  government.  Fervent  prayer 
is  odious  ;  and  often,  where  devotion  is  pretended,  it  is 
but  a  lifeless  form,  a  mere  charm  iigainst  the  fierce 
irruptions  of  a  restless  conscience.  The  general  reluc 
lance  which  is  felt  to  spkitual  duties  is  miaccountable. 
if  there  be  no  repugnancy  m  the  human  heart  to  inti- 
mate commmiion  with  God.  By  no  other  means  is  he 
brought  so  sensibly  near :  we  come  as  to  the  very  foot 
of  his  throne  ;  his  majesty  awes,  his  hohness  subdues, 
his  fatherly  love  in  Christ  attracts  and  melts,  the  soul. 
But  surely  none  other  than  an  enemy  can  dread  a  con- 
scious nearness  to  the  Fountain  ot  all  good.  Friendship 
instmctively  chooses  vicinity  to  its  object ;  dislike  alone 
can  seek  its  gratification  in  reserve  and  distance. 

Do  we  not  observe  every  where,  among  impenitent 
men,  a  disregard  and  resistance  of  the  authority  of 
God  ?  While  they  perform  many  outward  actions, 
which  are  conformable  to  the  requisitions  of  his 
law,  it  is  apparent,  from  the  partiahty  of  their  obe- 
dience, that  they  do  nothing  in  the  spirit  of  his  dutifiil 
•23 


176  THE  ENMITY  OP  THE  DltiC.  V. 

subjectis.  Though  they  treat  with  visible  consideration 
some  of  the  commandments  of  God,  they  pay  no 
regard  to  others  ;  thus  making  it  manifest,  that,  in  the 
good  works  of  which  they  boast,  they  are  actuated  by 
motives  of  personal  convenience,  or  self-interest,  and 
not  l)y  any  respect  for  his  will  and  glory.  "  Whosoever 
shall  keep  the  whole  law,  and  yet  offend  in  one  point, 
he  is  guilty  of  all ; "  he  proves  himself  to  be  wholly 
destitute  of  that  temper  which  excites  to  all  obedience  : 
and  he  is,  of  course,  entitled  to  no  praise  for  the  seeming 
virtues  which  policy  or  accident  may  dispose  him  to 
assume.  The  same  disposition  which  leads  to  the  ne- 
glect of  one  divine  precept,  would,  under  circumstances 
of  sufficient  temptation,  instigate  to  the  open  and  pro- 
fane contempt  of  all  the  commandments  in  the  deca- 
logue. True  obedience  is  always  rendered  in  view  of 
obligation  to  him  who  promulgates  the  law  ;  and  con- 
sequently it  can  claim  no  preference,  no  exemptions,  in 
reference  to  any  articles  in  the  code.  The  parent  ex- 
pects that  his  children  will  yield  to  his  will,  because  it 
is  his  ;  and  he  allows  them  no  credit,  as  supporters  of 
his  government,  merely  on  account  of  an  occasional 
and  undesigned  coincidence,  in  tlieir  conduct,  with  the 
regulations  he  has  established.  What  the  law  of  God 
requires,  is  the  absolute  surrender  of  the  heart  to  his 
guidance  and  control ;  the  consecration  to  his  service  of 
all  our  affections  and  powers ;  an  unwavering  ad- 
iierence,  evinced  in  every  thought  and  action,  through 
:ill  the  j)eriods  of  our  existence.     It  makes  no  allow- 


DISC.  V.  HUMAN  HEART,  ETC  179 

ance  for  disinclination  ;  it  threatens  the  smallest  delin- 
quency mth  the  pains  of  eternal  death.  To  the  gene- 
rality of  mankind  this  view  of  the  law  is  all  repulsive. 
It  provokes  their  strongest  objections ;  it  arms  them  with 
pleas  and  apologies  innumerable ;  it  invests,  to  their 
prejudiced  eye,  the  whole  character  of  God  in  terror 
and  gloom.  But  a  dislike  of  the  law,  in  its  spirituality 
and  strictness,  involves  opposition  to  him  by  whom  it 
was  given,  and  of  whose  moral  purity  it  is  a  transcript. 
Accordingly  the  apostle  says,  ■'  The  carnal  mind  is 
enmity  against  God ;  for  it  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of 
God  ;  neither  indeed  can  be."  Obedience  is  constantly 
declared  to  be  the  natural  expression,  and  necessary 
consequence,  of  love.  "  This  is  the  love  of  God,  that 
we  keep  his  commandments.  Why  call  ye  me  Lord, 
Lord,  and  do  not  the  things  which  I  command  you  ?'' 
Sinners  are  enemies  to  God  by  wicked  works. 

All  the  principles  of  the  divine  government,  as  well 
as  the  law  of  God,  are  opposed  by  wicked  men.  His 
high  prerogatives  excite  distrust  and  apprehension.  To 
please  the  unholy  he  must  abandon  his  sceptre,  or  rule 
only  for  their  benefit.  He  must  have  no  election,  no 
decrees,  no  sovereignty.  But  whence  this  suspicion  of 
his  motives,  this  unwillingness  to  resign  all  events  to 
his  wise  and  benevolent  disposal  ?  Can  the  loud  com- 
plaints we  often  hear  of  those  doctrines  by  which  his 
supremacy  is  most  clearly  evinced,  originate  from  any 
other  source  than  enmity  to  the  objects  for  which  he 
created  and  manage?;  the  world  ?     And  what  is  thi* 


180  THE  KNMI'f  Y  OF  THK  DISC.  \. 

but  enmity  against  God?  AfTectionatc  confidence  in 
bis  power  and  goodness  would  delight  to  ascribe  to  him 
unlimited  dominion ;  and  especially  would  it  feel  no 
misgivings,  no  burning  jealousies,  at  such  an  ascrip- 
tion. 

How  can  we  account  for  the  treatment  which  the 
messengers  of  the  Lord  have  in  all  ages  received  from 
an  ungodly  world,  unless  it  be  true,  that  there  is  in  the 
minds  of  men,  naturally,  a  strong  aversion  to  pure 
religion,  and  consequently  enmity  against  that.  God 
from  whom  it  proceeds  ?  To  resolve  the  hostility  mani- 
fested against  inspired  teachers  into  the  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances and  prejudices  of  the  respective  times  in 
which  they  Uved.  is  altogether  gratuitous,  at  variance 
alike  witb  ibc  record  of  facts,  and,  as  it  seems  to  me. 
with  the  exposition  given  by  the  subject  in  the  sacred 
volume.  The  scriptures  exhibit  a  concise  narrative  of 
events,  embracing  several  thousand  years  ;  and  it  does 
not  appear  that  during  all  that  period  a,  single  prophet, 
remarkable  for  his  zeal  and  usefulness,  was  exempt 
from  reproach  and  persecution.  Strange  that  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  age  should  always  have  been  such 
as  to  exaspeiate  the  pride  and  vindictive  feelings  of  the 
unholy  against  the  best  of  men,  provided  that  these 
circumstances,  instead  of  being  accidental,  did  not  arise 
from  some  inherent  depravity,  some  rooted  enmity 
against  God,  in  the  moral  affections  of  human  nature 
itself.  The  uniformity  of  an  effect  amidst  all  the 
<banges  which  centuries  produce  in  the  opinions  and 


DISC.  V.  HUMAN   HEART,  ETC  IS! 

usages  of  mankind,  proves,  if  any  thing  can  prove, 
some  permanent  cause  beyond  the  influence  of  such 
revolutions.  Besides,  we  are  expressly  taught  that  the 
world  (a  term,  including  all  unbelievers  of  whatever 
time,  or  nation)  is  constantly,  essentially,  an  enemy  to 
that  church  which  Jesus  purchased  by  his  blood.  "  If 
ye  were  of  the  world,  the  world  would  love  his  own ; 
but  because  ye  are  not  of  the  world,  but  I  have  chosen 
you  out  of  the  world,  therefore  the  icorld  hateth  you. 
Remember  the  word  that  I  said  unto  you,  The  servant 
is  not  greater  than  his  lord.  If  they  have  persecuted 
me,  they  will  also  persecute  you.  The  world  hath 
hated  them,  because  they  are  not  of  the  world,  even  as 
I  am  not  of  the  world."  "  All  that  will  live  godly  in 
Christ  Jesus,"  says  the  apostle,  "  shall  suffer  persecu- 
tion." From  these  and  many  other  passages,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  hatred  that  has  been  excited  against  the 
servants  of  Christ,  has  had  its  origin  in  those  fixed 
principles  of  corruption  which  are  common  to  all  uncon- 
verted men.  And  will  it,  can  it,  be  pretended,  that  a 
persecution  of  the  children  of  God,  merely  for  their 
fidelity  to  his  cause,  implies  no  unfriendly  dispositions 
towards  the  Master  whom  they  serve  ?  Unkindness  to 
an  ambassador,  who  acts  simply  in  accordance  with  his 
instructions,  is  universally  accounted  an  insult  to  the 
court  fi'om  which  he  derived  his  commission.  Indig- 
nity to  a  son,  because  he  belongs  to  his  father,  and 
bears  his  image,  is  the  most  unequivocal  proof  and  ex- 
pression of  ill  will  to  the  father  himself. 


182  THE  ENMITY  OF  THE  DISC.  V- 

How  has  Jesus  Christ  been  treated  by  sinners  ?  He, 
it  is  to  be  remembered,  is  God  as  well  as  man ;  and, 
therefore,  any  disrespect  manifested  towards  him  is  to 
be  considered  as  a  direct  expression  of  the  feelings  of 
the  heart  towards  God.  No  teacher  was  ever  so  vio- 
lently hated,  vihfied,  and  persecuted,  as  the  meek,  mer- 
ciful, and  charitable  Saviour  of  the  world.  So  vehe- 
ment and  invincible  was  the  resentment  of  sinners 
against  him,  that  they  could  not  be  satisfied,  till  they 
had  imbrued  their  hands  in  his  blood  ;  and  no  thanks 
to  them,  that  the  Divinity  within  him  did  not  expire, 
with  the  human  body  which  it  inhabited.  It  was  then 
a  mortal  enmity,  which  was  borne  by  the  unbelieving 
Jews  against  God  manifest  in  the  flesh.  "  What  then  ? 
are  we  better  than  they  I  No,  in  no  wise."  As  Jesus 
is  exalted  beyond  the  reach  of  sinners,  they,  of  course^ 
despair  of  another  triumph  in  his  actual  crucifixion ; 
yet  they  exhibit,  as  means  and  opportunities  occur,  the 
same  hostility  which  was  manifested  by  his  betrayers 
and  murderers.  By  many  he  is  openly  blasphemed ; 
and,  by  all  the  impenitent,  his  messages  of  mercy  are 
rejected,  and  the  figments  of  their  own  righteousness 
substituted  for  his  all-sufficient  sacrifice  and  obedience. 
The  obvious  language  of  unbelief  is,  "  Away  with 
him ;  we  will  not  have  this  man  to  reign  over  us.'" 
Such  a  spirit  is  an  implicit  rejection  of  the  dominion 
and  grace,  not  of  the  Son  merely,  but  of  the  whole 
Godhead.  "  He  that  despiseth  you,  despiseth  me ;  and 
he  that  despiseth  me,  despiseth  him  that  sent  me."' 


DISC.  V,  HUMAN  HEAKT,  ETC-  183 

4.  Many  will  testify,  from  tlicii^  own  experierice,  to 
the  native  enmity  of  their  hearts  against  God.  These 
were  once  as  unwilling  as  any  others  to  ascribe  to  them- 
selves so  depraved  a  character ;  living  in  careless  ease, 
and  neglecting  every  spiritual  duty,  it  was  scarcely  pos- 
sible to  convince  them  that  they  indulged  a  latent  oppo- 
sition to  their  Maker  ;  they  boasted  of  their  virtues  and 
imaginary  complacency  in  his  government,  and  sup- 
posed, that  no  radical  change  in  their  dispositions  was 
requisite,  to  prepare  them  for  tlie  enjoyment  of  his  king- 
dom. Some  alteration  of  circumstances,  a  spirit  of 
more  sober  reflection,  or  some  internal  operation  of 
grace,  disclosmg  to  their  view  the  secret  springs  of 
action,  annihilated  all  their  fond  notions  of  tlieir  own 
goodness,  and  exhibited  them  to  themselves,  the  undis- 
guised, implacable  enemies  of  God.  Every  real  chris- 
tian is  ready  to  charge'himself  with  direct  rebelhon — 
to  own  that,  naturally,  he  carried  in  his  bosom  such  sen- 
timents and  feelings  as,  but  for  restraining  grace,  would 
have  prompted  him  to  all  the  acts  of  the  most  deter- 
mined enmity.  However  good  men  may  differ  in  other 
respects,  in  the  admission  of  that  entire  moral  corrup- 
tion which  involves  opposition  to  the  perfections  and 
administration  of  Jehovah,  they  are  all  agreed ;  and 
their  conviction  on  this  subject  acquires  strength  and 
permanency,  in  proportion  to  their  advances  in  know- 
ledge and  holiness.  And  is  this  universal  consent  of 
such  as  are  most  deeply  imbued  with  spiritual  Chris- 
tianity, and  have  noticed  most  faithfully  the  interiov 


184  THE  ENMITY  OP  THE  DISC.  V 

actings  of  their  depravity,  to  be  accounted  nothing'.^ 
That  they  practise  intentional  deception  will  not  be 
pretended  ;  and  how  can  it  be  beheved,  that  on  a  point 
where  they  appeal  for  proof  to  personal  experience,  and 
which  implies  nothing  less  than  their  own  shame  and 
condemnation,  they  are  all  deceived  /  To  some  of 
them,  at  least,  strength  of  understanding,  and,  on  all 
other  subjects,  perspicuity  of  judgment,  must  be  con- 
ceded ;  and  why  should  they  be  charged  with  fanatical 
delusion  in  this  concurrent  testimony  of  their  individual 
consciousness  ? 

See  an  awakened  sinner.  Tortured  by  a  discovery 
of  his  guilt  and  danger,  vainly  striving  to  procure  some 
respite  from  his  woes,  he  still  resists  the  gracious  invita- 
tion, "  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy 
laden  ;  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  His  whole  conduct 
evinces  a  steadfast  opposition  to  the  terms  of  salvation  : 
this  occasions  all  his  inward  agony,  all  those  prayers 
and  tears  by. which,  without  submission,  he  would 
avert  his  impending  doom.  Submission  would  free 
him  at  once  from  the  terrors,  which  haunt  all  his  paths, 
would  secure  to  his  now  trembling  soul,  the  forgiving 
mercy,  the  everlasting  favour,  of  God.  Why  then  is  the 
sinner  thus  disquieted  1  Many  are  conscious  of  the 
real  source  of  their  wretchedness  ;  and  this,  perhaps,  is 
true  of  all,  who,  amidst  a  plenitude  of  evangelical  light, 
have  struggled  hard  and  long  under  the  bondage  of 
servile  fear  and  the  stern  rebukes  of  a  violated  law.  AH 
their  fancied  amiableness  has  vanished  ;  they  see,  the\ 


IJiSC.  V.  HUMAN  HEART,  ETC-  lb5 

feel  such  stubbornness,  such  inward  murmurs,  such 
dissatisfaction  with  the  government  of  God,  as  leave 
them  not  a  doubt  of  the  existence  of  a  mahgnity  within 
them,  strong  enough,  were  it  armed  witli  the  power  it 
covets,  to  subvert  his  very  throne.  Thousands,  re- 
puted most  lovely  in  their  natural  temper,  have  felt  the 
rising  wish ;  a  wish,  which  even  a  sense  of  their  help- 
lessness and  the  dread  of  Heaven's  thunder  could  not 
quell.  Ask  them,  if  any  language  can  be  too  forcible 
to  express  the  extent  of  their  opposition  'I  And  will  it 
be  contended,  that  they  have  false  apprehensions  of 
themselves  ;  that,  with  all  their  sensible  hatred  of  God, 
they  are  at  heart  his  sincere  friends  ?  It  might  be  so, 
were  their  eyes  directed  to  an  imaginary  being ;  but  it 
is  the  God  of  the  bible,  holy,  just,  and  sovereign,  whose 
character  excites  the^"  aversion,  and  from  whose  pre- 
sence they  shrink  with  horror  and  dismay.  They 
labour  under  no  mistake — unless,  indeed,  sin  be  a  trifle, 
fear  of  damnation  the  whim  of  a  disordered  intellect, 
and  the  doctrine  of  responsibility  to  him  that  made  us. 
a  fable  and  a  dream. 

5.   The  scriptures  have  settled  the  question. 

Observe  the  express  testimony  of  the  bible.  •  Vp 
have  both  seen  and  hated  both  me  and  my  Father. 
Ye  ivill  not  come  unto  me  that  ye  might  have  life. 
O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  thou  that  kiUest  the  prophets, 
and  stonest  them  that  are  sent  unto  thee,  how  often 
would  I  have  gathered  thy  children  together,  even  as  a 
hen  g-atherpth  her  rhickens  under  her  wings  :  and  yr 
24 


IbO  THE  ExNiMITY   OF  TllK  DISC.   V. 

would  noi.  For  if  while  Ave  were  enemies  we  were 
reconciled  to  God  by  the  death  of  his  Son — And  you 
that  were  sometime  alienated,  and  enemies  in  your 
mind  by  wicked  works  "'- 

Deny  the  native  enmity  of  the  heart  to  God,  and  tlic 
leading  docuines  of  the  gospel  become  wholly  unintelli- 
gible. What  will  you  make  of  regeneration  ?  '•  Ex- 
cept a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom 
of  God,''  Believers  arc  declared  to  be  "  his  workman- 
ship, created  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works ;"  they 
have  known  experimentally  the  exceeding  greatness 
of  his  power  in  their  renovation,  according  to  the 
working  of  his  mighty  power ^  which  he  wrought  in 
Christ  when  he  raised  him  froin  the  dead.  Means 
and  motives,  important  as  they  are  in  the  economy  oi 
grace,  have,  we  are  assured,  no  efficiency  in  the  pro- 
duction of  that  moral  change  without  which  none  will 
embrace  the  offers,  or  become  interested  in  the  blessings, 
of  salvation.  "  Which  were  born,  not  of  blood,  nor  of 
the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God. 
So,  then,  it  is  not  of  him  that  willeth,  nor  of  hini 
that  rvmneth,  but  of  God  that  showeth  mercy."  What, 
but  such  opposition  in  the  unrenewed  heart  to  the  gos- 
pel, and  consequently  to  God,  its  Author,  as  is  invincible 
by  argument  and  all  the  exertions  of  finite  power, 
could  justify  language  like  this  .^ 

How  do  you  explain  the  sovereignty  of  the  divine 
pmposes  in  reference  to  the  vessels  of  mercy  ?  "  Ye 
have  not  chosen  me  ;   but  1  have  cffbsen  you,  and  or 


DI.SC.    V.  llUMi\N   IIK.VRT.   KTC.  187 

(lained  you,  that  ye  should  go  and  bring-  foith  fruit,  and 
that  your  fruit  should  remain.  I  am  sought  of  them 
that  asked  not  for  me  ;  I  am  found  of  them  that  sought 
me  not ;  I  said,  Behold  me,  behold  me,  imto  a  nation 
that  was  not  called  by  my  name."  It  seems,  then, 
that  sinners  do  not,  will  not  move  towards  God,  till  he 
moves  upon  their  hearts  by  his  special  grace.  But 
would  they,  when  invited  to  the  heavenljr  banquet 
which  his  mercy  has  prepared,  '•  all  begin,  with  one 
consent,  to  make  excuse" — did  they  feel  no  disgust  at 
the  provisions — did  they  cherish  no  disloyalty  tow^ards 
the  King,  at  whose  expense  the  provisions  had  been 
procured  ?  Impossible  !  Love,  at  the  first  summons 
of  the  gospel,  would  fly  to  the  arms  of  the  Father  of 
mercies,  and  rest,  with  angelic  calmness  and  rapture, 
in  his  bosom. 

The  message  of  the  gospel  to  sinful  men  is  summa- 
rily this ;  '•'  Be  ye  reconciled  to  God."  To  explain, 
illustrate,  and  enforce  this  duty,  wherever  they  went, 
was  the  grand  object  of  the  primitive  preachers  of  Chris- 
tianity. But  does  not  reconciliation  import  a  previous 
state  of  variance  between  the  parties  1  Who  ever  heard 
of  an  attempt  to  reconcile  those  who  had  always  been 
friends  ?  And  to  whom,  in  tliis  case,  is  the  exhortation 
given  ?  To  God  1  Is  he  entreated  to  be  reconciled  to 
sinners  ?  They  are  required  to  become  reconciled  to 
God  ;  the  ag-gression  and  enmity,  then,  are  on  their  side. 
He  can  make  no  concessions,  no  alteration  in  the  great 
maxims  of  his  government :  if  any  change  is  to  be  ef 


J  88  THE  ENMITY  OF  THE  DISC.  V. 

fected  ill  the  relations  subsisting  between  himself  and 
sinners,  it  must  be  accomplished  by  their  voluntary 
compliance  with  the  proposals,  which  he  has  already 
announced. 

Such  is  the  whole  tenor  of  the  gospel.  Let  it  be 
made  to  appear — that  impenitent  men  are  ui  any  degree 
truly  friendly  to  God, — and  none  are  in  danger  of 
perdition, — and  the  whole  scheme  of  salvation  by  grace 
is  overthrown.  All  who  are  not  the  friends  of  God  are 
his  enemies.  Tiiere  can  be  no  neutrality  here.  "  He 
that  is  not  for  me  is  against  me  :  and  he  that  ffat  beret li 
not  with  me  scattereth  abroad." 

Such  are  the  proofs  of  the  enmity  of  the  unrenewed 
heart  of  man  against  his  Creator,  Supreme  Benefactor, 
and  Eternal  Judge. 

This  humiliating  subject,  my  brethren,  teaches  us 
most  impressively  the  importance  of  those  restraints, 
which  a  toise  and  benevolent  Providence  is  pleased 
to  employ  in  the  government  of  m,ankind.  Conceive 
of  all  restraints  withdrawn  from  a  world  like  this  ; — a 
world  accmsed,  and  full  of  the  enemies  of  God.  No 
tongue  can  describe,  no  fancy  can  paint,  the  complicated 
scenes  of  guilt  and  misery  which  would  ensue.  The 
malice,  blasphemies,  fierce  upbraidings,  and  ceaseless 
contentions  of  the  place  of  the  damned,  would  every 
where  suspend  the  labours  of  industry,  the  pleasures  ol 
knowledge,  the  tranquil  joys  of  domestic  life,  the  pro- 
tection of  law,  the  smiles  of  liberty,  and  all  the  sweet, 
buoyant,    enduring    hopes   which    religion    inspires. 


DISC.   V.  HUMAN  HEART,   ETC.  189 

Every  temple,  dedicated  to  the  living-  God,  would  fall,  or 
be  transformed  into  a  den  of  assassins  and  cannibals ; 
every  bible  would  be  trodden  into  the  dust,  or  thrown 
into  the  flames  ;  every  useful  volume,  every  useful  art, 
would  perish  ;  and  atheism,  and  war,  and  carnage,  and 
desolation,  swell  the  tide  of  misery,  till  all  vestiges  of 
guilty  and  reprobated  man  were  swept  from  the  face  of 
the  earth.  No  praise  to  us,  that  all  these  horrors,  and 
others  too  dreadful  for  our  conception,  are  not  already 
realized.  To  him  who  holds  in  his  fist  the  wild  winds, 
and  the  wilder  passions  of  his  enemies,  be  all  the  glory. 
^'  The  floods  have  lifted  up,  O  Lord,  the  floods  have 
lifted  up  their  voice  ;  the  floods  lift  up  their  waves.  The 
Lord  on  high  is  mightier  than  the  noise  of  many 
waters,  yea,  than  the  mighty  waves  of  the  sea.  Surely 
the  wrath  of  man  shall  praise  thee  ;  the  remainder  of 
wrath  shalt  thou  restrain.''^ 

What  views  does  this  subject  give  us  of  the  tnys- 
terious  love  of  God  to  our  apostate  icorld  7  Regarded 
in  its  bovmdless  variety  and  ceaseless  manifestations, 
his  kindness  to  his  friends  and  to  irrational  creatures 
incapable  of  transgression,  illustrates,  in  a  manner  emi- 
nently wonderfid  and  affecting,  the  benevolence 
whence  all  his  bounties  flow.  But  it  is  when  we  con- 
template this  great  Legislator  and  Father  bestowing  his 
benefits  on  sinners,  on  his  enemies ;  upholding  their  life ; 
imparting  to  them  ease,  health,  competency  ;  instruct- 
ing them  by  his  works  ;  reasoning  with  them  by  his 
word  ;  sending  out  his  commands,  and  invitations,  and 


J90  THE  ENMITY  OF  THE  DISC.  V 

promises ;  and,  more  than  all,  giving  his  o^vn  Son  for 
their  redemption ;  that  toe  begin  to  learn  what  infi- 
7iite  love  can  do.  Intent  on  the  happiness  of  men,  he 
beseeches  them  to  become  reconciled  to  himself;  and 
as  they  continue  to  reject  his  mercy,  he  repeats,  with 
renewed  earnestness,  his  paternal  entreaties.  To  this 
urgency,  he  adds,  in  behalf  of  his  chosen,  the  special 
exertion  of  his  own  power,  to  subdue  their  enmity  ;  he 
draws  them  with  cords  of  a  man,  with  bands  of  love : 
he  justifies  them  freely  by  his  grace,  through  the  re- 
demption which  is  in  Christ  Jesus ;  sustains  them 
amidst  all  the  perils  of  their  journey  ;  and  receives  them 
at  last  into  his  immediate  presence,'  where  their  obedi- 
ence, gratitude,  and  praise,  are  perfect  and  eternal. 
And  all  this  for  those,  who  were  by  nature  his  enemies, 
and  children  of  wrath  !  O  goodness  past  finding  out ! 
an  ocean  without  bottom  or  shore  ! 

My  impenitent  hearers,  this  is  the  God  against 
whom  you  have  rebelled.  Again  you  are  called  to 
repent :  "  Now  then  we  are  ambassadors  for  Christ,  as 
though  God  did  beseech  you  by  us ;  we  pray  you,  in 
Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God."  On  what 
principle,  will  you  attempt  to  justify  your  enmity  against 
the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth  '!■  On  what  principles 
will  you  undertake  to  excuse  your  present  impenitence, 
your  obstinate  resistance  of  all  those  affecting  mandates, 
which  issue  from  his  throne  in  heaven,  from  Sinai's 
summit,  and  from  the  bloody  tree  of  Calvary  ?  Is  not 
Gotl  worthy  of  your  love,  your  confidence,  your  obedi- 


Disc.    V.  HUMAN  HEART,  ETC.  191 

ence,  your  elernal  praise  ?     Is  he  not  the  sum  and 
pattern  of  all  beauty ;    an  immensity  of  glory  before 
which  the  lustre  of  the  whole  creation  fades  away,  and 
is  forgotten  ?     Do  not  all  possible  perfections  centre  in 
him,  with  a  harmony,  and  grandeur,  and  boundlessness, 
which  should  astonish  and  overwhelm,  and  ravish,  all 
hearts,  in  all  worlds  1     What  then  is  his  offence  1    Is  it, 
that  he  has  made  you  rational,  immortal,  and  subjects 
of  his  holy  government ;   that,    forbearing  to  punish 
hitherto,  he  has  crowned  your  days  with  his  mercy ; 
that  he  has  given  his  Son  to  be  a  propitiation  for  your 
sins,  sent  you  his  word,  forewarned  you  of  the  punish- 
ment you  have  deserved,  declared  his  readiness  to  for- 
give, and  is  now  urging  your  return  to  himself  by  the 
bleeding  sacrifice  of  the  cross  ?     Is  it  for  all  these  things, 
or  any  of  them,  that  you  harbour  so  deep  a  resentment 
against  him?     Is  it  for  these,  that  you  are  so  deter- 
mined on  a  rejection  of  his  kind  overtures  ?     Do  you 
plead  inability  1      What  is  your  inahility  7     Are  you 
deficient  in  natural  faculties?     Are  jKi  incapable  of 
reasoning,  of  knowing  your  duty,  of  exercising  love, 
and  of  acting  freely  in  view  of  motives  ?     Is  your  help- 
lessness any  thing  else  than  disinclination  ;  a  heart,  su- 
premely devoted  to  enjoyments,  foreign  from  the  glory 
of  God  and  the  interests  of  his  holy  kingdom  ?    Is  such 
inability,  such  helplessness,  the  apology  you  offer  for 
unyielding  opposition  to  God  ?     It  is  that  which  consti- 
tutes your  sin  itself ;  it  is  that  for  which  you  will  stand 
at  last,  condemned,  speecliless,  at  the  tribunal  of  eternal 


192  THE  ENMITY  OP  THE  DISC.  V 

justice.  Down — down  then  with  your  weapons  of  ve 
belhon.  God  is  in  the  right.  He  has  done  nothing, 
said  nothing,  on  which  you  can  rest  your  defence.  His 
law,  his  gospel,  all  intelligent  creatures,  and  your  own 
consciences  also,  will  rise  as  swift  witnesses  against  you, 
will  vindicate  the  insulted  honour,  and  justify  the  right- 
eous sentence,  of  the  King  of  kings. ' 

Dear  fellow-mortals,  what  do  you  intend  ?  Would 
you  perpetuate  the  war  with  the  Almighty  ?  Pause, 
before  you  form  so  dreadful  a  resolution.  It  is  no  light, 
design,  in  which  you  are  engaged.  Every  enemy  of 
God  carries  in  his  bosom  a  spirit,  which,  acting  out 
itself  with  a  potency  of  influence,  proportioned  to  the 
intensity  and  energy  of  its  malice,  would  do  more  than 
desolate  the  earth,  and  hang  the  heavens  in  sackcloth, 
and  extinguish  stars  and  suns,  and  crumble  the  thrones 
of  celestial  potentates ; — it  would  blot  out  the  source  of 
all  being,  or  degrade  to  the  occupation  of  a  servile  in- 
strumentality to  its  own  caprice,  all  the  wisdom  and 
power  of  the  inftiite  Jehovah.  Yes,  it  is  a  spirit  which 
breathes  extermination  against  the  kingdom,  and  attri- 
butes, and  very  existence  of  God.  But  it  is  impotent  as 
it  is  daring.  The  sinner  cannot  dethrone  his  Maker ; 
and  he  must  be  miserable  while  God  continues  to  reign. 
The  elements  of  perdition,  now  perhaps  smothered  in 
his  breast,  will  one  day  glow,  and  kindle,  and  blaze  forth 
in  all  their  fury.  The  bursting  of  his  earthly  tenement 
will  but  introduce  him  to  scenes,  every  one  of  whicli 
will  awaken  witliin  him  unutterable  anguish.     Those 


HUMAiN    iltAKT,  K'VC. 


193 


holy  eyes,  of  which  he  Is  now  uniiiindful,  he  will  then 
see  fixed  upon  hhn  in  all  their  penetrating  and  insiil- 
ferable  radiance,  darting  through  his  whole  soul  pangs, 
of  which  on  earth  he  had  never  dreamed.  God,  in  all 
the  brightness  of  his  purity,  in  all  the  majesty  of  his 
dominion,  in  all  the  resistlessness  of  his  might,  will 
encompass,  confound,  overwhelm  him.  Who  will 
espouse  his  cause?  In  i)aradise  itself,  he  would  be 
worse  than  solitary.  What,  at  the  sight  of  an  enemy 
of  God  breaking  in  upon  their  joys,  would  be  the  emo; 
tions  of  the  heavenly  worshippers?  No  ransomed 
spirit,  no  angel,  greets  his  arrival ;  every  harp  is  silent, 
every  song  is  suspended ;  (lie  whole  population  start 
back,  at  his  approach,  with  involuntary  horror,  or  unite 
to  expel  the  bold  intruder  from  the  realms  of  the  blessed. 
And  whither  will  he  go  ? — No  place  for  him,  but  the 
abodes  of  darkness  and  despair ;  no  companions,  but 
fiends,  his  associates  in  crime,  who  will  be  his  tormentors 
forever. 

Dying  hearer^  dying  hearer !  it  is  now  with  you 
the  day  of  grace.  The  voice  of  the  Redeemer's  mercy 
sounds  from  Calvary.  -  The  Spirit  and  the  bride  say, 
Come.  And  let  him  that  heareth  say,  Come.  And 
let  him  that  is  athirst  come.  And  whosoever  will, 
let  him  take  the  water  of  life  freely."  Come  now? 
and  taste,  for  the  first  time,  the  joys  of  reconciliation 
to  God.  To-morrow  it  may  be  too  late.  Yield  now  to 
the  importunities  of  divine  compassion  ;  seize  this 
Sfoldeii  moment  of  probation  and  hope.     Then  shal 


194  THE  ENMITY  OP  THE,  KTC.  DISC.  V. 

3'onv  oflencled  Sovereign  finilc,  and  the  gates  of  heaven 
shall  be  tlirown  open,  and  slrains  of  gratiilation  roll 
from   the  •skies:      '' Titk    enemy  has    become    a 

FRIEND,  THE  CHILD  OF  PERDITION.  AN  HEIR  OF 
GT.ORY.'' 


DISCOURSE   VI 


THE  EKJT:CXIO^"  OF  REVEALED  TKLTII  JU:iJiKAl!J.l. 
TO  MORAL  DEPRAVITY. 


)lEar>EV.s  iii.  l:i.— "  Tiike  lieed,  brethren,  lest  there  be  in  any  of  you  an  cvH 
heart  of  unbelief,  in  departing  from  the  living  God." 


Jt  has  been  often  and  strenuously  objected  to  the 
rehgion  of  Jesus  Christ,  that  it  lays  a  most  unreasona- 
ble stress  on  faith  ;  that  it  even  makes  our  entire  in- 
terest in  all  the  blessings  which  it  proposes,  to  be  sus 
pended  upon  the  exercise  of  this  grace.  But  another 
principle  in  the  christian  system,  still  more  oflensive, 
aiid  still  more  strenuously  opposed,  is,  that  the  want  of 
faith  is  always  represented  as  a  sin,  and,  of  course,  as 
referable  to  the  depravity  of  the  heart. 

This,  however,  is  the  uniform  doctrine  of  the  Bible  : 
and  it  is  plainly  taught  in  our  text.  The  Apostle  is, 
indeed,  here  writing  to  those  whom  he  calls  "  brethren," 
that  is.  |)rofePsed  believer?  in  Christ.     Even  these  were 


19(')  PHE  RE.Tr.CTION  OP  DISC.  AT 

ill  danger  of  unbelief:  for  nnlielief  may  be  eitlier  spe- 
culative or  practical,  partial  or  entire.  But  in  whatever 
degree  or  form  it  may  exist;  whether  in  the  decent 
professor,  or  in  the  profane  scoffer ;  whether  in  that 
weak  faith  which  ''  staggers  at  the  promise,"  or  that 
decisive  and  bold  infidelity,  which  entirely  rejects  "  the 
record  which  God  has  given  of  his  Son  ;" — it  is  alv/ays 
criminal,  always  referable  to  an  evil  heart,  against 
which  every  well-wisher  to  the  happiness  of  man 
ought  to  be  on  his  guard. 

Although  the  remarks  which  I  am  about  to  offer, 
may  be  considered  as  referring,  as  far  as  they  are  appli- 
cable, to  every  grade  oi'  unbelief,  whether  in  the  real 
christian,  or  the  impenitent  sinner, — and  which,  as  was 
just  said,  is  referable,  in  all,  to  an  evil  source ;  yet  my 
main  purpose  is  to  speak  of  ihat  "  unbelief"  which  is 
speculative  and  entire,  that  is,  which  rejects  the  Bible", 
rejects  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  as  a  "cunningly 
devised  fable  ;"  and  to  shew  that  this  unbelief  ever  flows 
from  an  '•  evil  heart ;"  in  other  Avords.  is  always  the 
result  of  moral  depravit)'. 

I  am  perfectly  aware,  my  friends,  that  this  will  be 
considered  by  many  as  a  most  uncharitable  and  offen- 
sive charge.  Yet  I  am  not  without  hope  tliat  it  may 
be  substantiated  to  the  satisfaction  of  every  impartial 
liearer.  There  may,  indeed,  be  some  cavil  as  to  the 
((uestion,  what  is  evil  I  For  there  are  multitudes  who 
•  call  evil  good,  and  good  evil."  What,  then,  ought  to  be 
dennniinated  niil?      Now.  I  ^\\i\\\  feel  Avarranted  in 


DIBC.  VI.  REVEALED  THU'rH,  ETC.  197" 

pronouncing  to  be  such,  every  thing  that  leads  men  to 
•'  depart  from  the  Uving  God  ;"  every  thing  which  dis- 
poses them  to  make  hght  of  his  character,  authority 
and  law ;  every  thing  that  tends  to  diminish  the  abhor- 
rence of  vice,  or  to  take  away  the  incentives  to  virtue  ; 
every  thing,  in  a  word,  that  leads  to  moral  corruption 
and  misery. 

It  is  my  purpose,  then,  to  endeavour  to  shew,  that 
unbelief  in  God's  Bible ;  unbelief  in  Jesus  Christ,  and 
in  that  great  system  of  revealed  truth,  which  is  the  sub- 
ject matter  of  the  Bible,  must  flow  from  an  '■'■evil 
heart  f — that  unbehef  is  evil  in  its  nature,  evil  in 
its  ORIGIN,  and  evil  in  its  effects. 

I.  Unbelief  in  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ  is  evil 
IN  iT.s  nature. 

And  here,  that  we  may  understand  the  real,  intrin- 
sic character  of  unbelief,  let  us  attend,  for  a  moment, 
to  that  opposite  act  of  the  mind  which  we  call  believ- 
ing ; — believing  the  Gospel.  This  is  the  more 
necessary,  because  many  are  fond  of  considering  and 
representing  it  as  a  mere  intellectual  exercise,  in  which 
we  simply  assent  to  evidence,  and  for  which  we  are  no 
more  accoimtable  than  in  yielding  our  assent  to  any 
other  kind  of  evidence.  For,  say  they,  as  we  never 
cx)nsider  a  man  as  morally  guilty  for  not  being  con- 
vinced by  the  evidence  presented  in  favour  of  a  given 
theorem  in  mathematics,  or  syllogism  in  logic,  any 
more  than  for  not  seeing  an  object  beyond  the  reach  of 
his  organs  of  vision ;  so  neither  ought  any  one  to  be 


198  THK  REJECTION  OF  DISC.   VI. 

held  responsible,  either  to  God  or  man.  for  not  beina^ 
convinced  by  the  testimony  in  favour  of  the  Gospel : 
and,  of  course,  for  not  receiving  it  as  the  foundation  of 
his  hope,  and  the  guide  of  his  life.  If  this  representa- 
tion were  correct,  it  would  certainly  be  difficult  to  she^\ 
that  unbelief  has  any  moral  evil  in  its  nature. 

There  are  others— and  those  who  bear  the  christian 
name — who,  though  they  by  no  means  admit  that 
evangelical  belief  is  a  mere  assent  of  the  understanding 
to  an  array  of  testimony ; — yet  maintain,  that  he  is  a 
l)eliever,  in  the  Gospel  sense,  who  cherishes  a  firm  per- 
suasion that  he  is  himself  a  christian  ;  that  Christ  died 
for  him  in  particular ;  and  that  he  is  an  object  of  the 
Divine  love.  Now,  as  a  strong  confidence  of  this  kind 
may  be  supposed  to  exist,  and  has  often,  in  fact,  been 
foimd  to  exist,  without  any  real  subjection  of  the  heart 
to  the  spirit  of  Christianity ; — it  would  not  be  easy,  it 
must  be  acknowledged, — on  the  supposition  that  faith 
essentially  consists  in  confidence  in  our  own  good  estate. 
and  the  essence  of  unbelief  in  doubt  concerning  it,— 
to  shew  that  unbelief  is  intrinsically  sinful ;— in  other 
words,  to  establish  the  doctrine  of  our  text. 

But  I  need  not  say  to  those  who  read  and  understand 
the  Scriptures,  that  neither  of  these  views  can,'  by  any 
means,  be  admitted.  Faith,  or  believing,  is  every  where 
represented,  by  the  inspired  writers,  as  an  humble, 
reverential,  cordial  reception  of  Jehovah's  testimon}'. 
that  is,  of  his  revealed  truth.  It  is  "the  substance  of 
jhings  lioped  for.  and  the  evidenre  of  ihinsfs  not  seen.'" 


DISC.  VI.  REVEALED  TRUTH,  ETC.  199 

with  the  bodily  eye.  It  is  that  mental  exercise,  by 
which  the  existence,  perfections,  government  and  Gos- 
pel of  Jehovah  are  made  realities  to  our  minds,  and 
respected  accordingly  ;  by  which  we  meditate  on  his 
glory,  converse  with  him,  and  take  an  affectionate  in- 
terest in  his  kingdom  and  honour.  It  is  evident,  then, 
on  the  slightest  examination,  that  the  faith  which  is 
exercised  in  embracing  the  religion  of  Christ,  is  emi- 
nently a  moral  act.  '•  With  the  heart,"  we  are  told, 
•  man  believeth  unto  righteousness."  The  Gospel  comes 
to  us,  not  as  a  system  of  frigid  speculation ;  l^ut  as  a 
great  moral  and  practical  message  ;  a  message  of  won- 
derful love  and  mercy.  It  addresses  us  as  a  race  of 
rebels,  alienated  from  God,  and  under  the  condemning 
sentence  of  his  righteous  law.  It  o^ers  to  us  pardon 
and  peace,  complete  deliverance  from  the  guilt,  the 
power  and  the  consequences  of  sin,  and  a  title  to  eternal 
life ;  and  all  this  on  the  simple  and  easy  terms,  that  we 
feel  our  need  of  these  blessings,  and  humbly  and  grate- 
fully accept  of  them,  as  a  free  gift,  bestowed  solely  fo)- 
the  sake  of  the  atoning  sacrifice  and  perfect  righteous- 
ness of  the  Redeemer.  Now,  evangelical  faith  is,  in 
one  word,  this  humble  and  grateful  acceptance  of  the 
Gospel  offer.  It  is  receiving  the  holy,  self-denying 
joyful  truth  of  the  Bible  in  the  love  op  it.  It  is 
that  combined  act  of  the  understanding,  will,  and  af- 
fections, by  which  we  cordially  embrace  the  whole  reli- 
gion of  Jesus  Christ  as  a  practical  system ;  by  which 
we  unfeignedly  accept  of  the  Saviour  as  our  I'eacher. 


^^00  THE  REJECTION  OI  DISC.   VI 

our  atoning  Sacrifice,  our  vicarious  Righteousness,  our 
Lawgiver,  and  our  Pattern.  In  short,  the  essential 
nature  of  faith  consists  in  an  unreserved  and  hearty 
surrender  of  the  whole  mind  to  the  information  which 
the  Gospel  brings,  to  the  grace  which  it  unfolds,  and  to 
the  duties  which  it  enjoins.  It  is  that  act,  or  rather 
that  practical  habit  of  the  soul,  by  which  we  renounce 
our  pride,  our  prejudices,  and  our  self-righteousness : 
by  which  we  sit  as  little  children  at  the  feet  of  Jesus, 
and  learn  his  humbling  and  self-denying  lessons.  This 
is  faith.  This  is  that  precious  grace  which  may  well 
hold  so  high  a  rank  in  the  christian  system ;  for  it  is 
that  by  which  we  apprehend,  and  practically  regard  all 
the  glories  of  the  unseen  world.  It  is  that  grace  by 
which,  if  I  may  be  allowed  the  expression,  we  take  hold 
of  Christ  as  our  hope ;  take  hold  of  eternal  things  as 
our  richest  treasures ;  take  hold  of  the  character,  the 
law,  and  the  gracious  covenant  of  Jehovah,  as  our  con- 
fidence, and  rest,  and  joy. 

Hence  christian  faith  is  often  spoken  of  in  Scripture 
in  terms  which  imply  the  exercise  of  moral  feelings  as 
w^ell  as  intellectual  assent.  It  is  represented,  by  the 
Apostle,  as  "  receiving  the  love  of  the  truth.''''  In  the 
parable  of  the  "  sower,"  the  "  good  ground,"  in  which 
the  seed  was  deposited  with  profit,  is  said,  by  our  Sa- 
viour, to  indicate  those  who  receive  the  seed  of  his  word 
'•  into  good  and  honest  hearts  J''  Again,  it  is  said,  by 
the  inspired  Apostle,  "  If  thou  shalt  confess  with  thy 
mouth  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  believe  in  thine  heart  that 


1>16C.   VI.  REVKALKD  TRUTH,   ETC.  20l 

God  raised  him  from  the  dead,  thou  shall  be  saved.'' 
This  grace  is  also  illustrated,  by  our  Saviour,  by  com- 
paring it  with  the  meek,  humble,  teachable  temper  of 
••'  a  little  child."  "  Except  ye  be  converted,  and  become 
as  little  children,  ye  shall  in  no  case  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  heaven."* 

Now,  if  such  be  the  nature  of  laith,  then  the  want  of 
it,  which  is  "  imbelief,"  must  be  evil,  exceedingly  evil, 
in  its  very  nature.  Unbelief  is  the  direct  opposite  of 
faith.  It  rejects  the  glorious  Gospel ;  turns  away  with 
indifference,  or  with  aversion,  from  its  condescending 
offers ;  opposes  its  Author ;  treats  Hun  as  a  liar ;  and 
sets  his  promises  and  his  threatenings  equally  at  naught. 
Where  there  is  no  faith,  the  God  of  the  Bible  is  not 
recognized  or  regarded,  and,  of  course,  neither  loved 
nor  obeyed.  In  fact,  as  belief  in  the  great  realities 
which  the  Bible  unfolds,  is  the  vital  principle  of  all 
piety,  without  which  neither  the  great  Object  of  wor- 
ship, nor  the  duties  which  we  owe  Him,  can  be  con- 
templated as  real,  or  exert  an  influence  on  the  mind  : 
so  vinbelief  is  no  less  the  vital  principle  of  all  irreligion, 
and  all  disobedience.  Its  very  spirit  and  essence,  as 
our  text  intimates,  consists  in  "departing  from  the 
Uving  God  ;"  renouncing  his  authority ;  despising  his 
word ;  refusing  to  listen  to  his  kindest  invitations  ;  and 
practically  defying  his  power  and  wrath. 

*  2  Thess.  ii.  10.    Luke  viii.  15.    Rom.  .\.  9,  10.    Matt,  sviii.  3. 

26 


'-02  THE  REJECTION  OF  DISC.  VI. 

Unbeliei',  then,  my  friends,  is  not  a  mere  error  in 
judgment ;  a  mere  miscalculation  of  the  amount  and 
force  of  testimony  : — but  a  state  of  the  mind,  strongly 
marked  with  moral  obliquity ;  a  state  of  the  heart 
involving  disobedience  to  God  ;  aversion  to  his  truth : 
neglect  of  his  most  gracious  annunciations  ;  ingrati- 
tude for  his  richest  mercies ;  and  taking  side  with  his 
worst  enemies.  Only  assume  that  the  Gospel  is  a  true, 
and  a  gracious  gift  of  God,  and  all  that  has  been  stated 
inevitably  follows.  And  is  not  the  heart  that  is  capa- 
ble of  all  this,  an  *'  evil  heart ;" — a  rebellious  heart ; — a 
hard,  ungrateful  heart  ?  Yes,  my  dear  brethren,  un- 
belief is  so  far  from  being  no  sin,  or  a  small  sin,  that  it 
is  the  radical  principle,  the  most  noxious  element  of  all 
sin.  And  if  all  unbelief  be  thus  evil,  how  pre-emi- 
nently evil  is  that  unbelief,  which  not  only  refuses  to 
liear,  and  to  yield  assent  when  God  speaks ;  but  which 
sets  at  naught  such  a  message  as  the  glorious  Gospel : 
a  message  of  love  and  mercy,  of  peace  and  pardon  and 
life ;  a  message  which  proclaims  deliverance  from  all 
the  evils  which  we  feel  or  fear,  and  exaltation  to  bliss 
and  glory  eternal  in  the  heavens  !  O  my  friends,  what 
immeasurable  evil  is  here  !  Surely  those  who  refuse 
to  listen  when  the  God  of  grace  speaks ;  who  turn 
away  with  thankless  indifference  from  the  wonders  of 
redeeming  love ;  who  voluntarily  close  their  eyes  against 
the  hglit  of  life,  and  their  ears  against  the  invitations  of 
heavenly  mercy  ;  who,  when  addressed  by  all  that  is 
tender  in  condescension,  and  by  all  that  is  touching 


3H.SC.  VI.  REVEALED  TIJUTIT.  ETC.  "^OH 

and  constraining  in  Divine  entreaty,  refuse  to  hear: 
refuse  to  be  saved ;  deliberately  prefer  '•'  everlasting  de- 
struction from  the  presence  of  the  Ijord,  and  the  glory 
of  his  power"  to  an  "incorruptible  crown,"  an  "  undefiled 
inheritance,"  an  "  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of 
glory ;" — who  practically  say  to  the  Saviour,  "  We  will 
not  accept  of  thine  offered  salvation ;  w^e  will  not  have 
ihee  to  reign  over  us  ;" — surely  if  there  be  "  an  evil 
heart"  either  on  earth  or  in  hell,  they  manifest  it,  in 
all  the  deformity  which  ingratitude  and  rebellion  can  im- 
press upon  the  spirit  of  a  rational  creature.  Let  vis  next 
II.  Proceed  to  show  that  the  heart  of  unbelief  is 
•  an  evil  heart,"  by  tracing  this  unhappy  state  of  mind 
40  some  of  its  chief  causes.  That  which  is  always 
and  essentially  evil  in  its  nature,  cannot  be  imagined 
to  have  any  other  than  an  evil  source.  Yet  it  may 
not  be  unprofitable,  in  contemplating  the  subject  before 
us,  to  examine  some  of  the  specific  causes  which 
lead  to  that  rejection  of  the  glorious  Gospel  of  which  we 
speak,  and  which  shew  it  to  be  as  unhallowed  in  its 
origin^  as  in  its  character. 

And,  on  this  point,  the  word  of  God  is  clear  and  de- 
cisive. It  uniformly  traces  unbelief,  in  all  its  forms,  to 
a  corrupt  source.  It  represents  it  as  generated  and 
nourished  by  pride,  by  prejudice,  by  unhallowed  appe- 
tite and  passion,  by  corrupt  habits  of  living,  by  a  desire 
to  be  free  from  all  the  restraints  which  the  faith  of  the 
Gospel  imposes.  It  pronounces  with  the  utmost  so- 
lemnity and  emphasis — "  This  is  the  condemnation, 


^04  THE  REJECTION  OF  DISC.  VI, 

that  light  is  come  into  the  world,  and  men  loved  dark- 
ness rather  than  light,  because  their  deeds  were  evil." 
And  again ;  "  The  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things 
of  the  Spirit  of  God,  for  they  are  foolishness  unto  him, 
neither  can  he  know  them,  because  they  are  spiritually 
discerned."  And  again ;  "  If  our  gospel  be  hid,  it  is 
hid  to  them  that  are  lost,  in  whom  the  god  of  this  world 
hath  blinded  the  minds  of  them  which  believe  not,  lest 
the  light  of  the  glorious  Gospel  of  Christ,  who  is  the 
image  of  God,  should  shine  into  them."  Once  more : 
••'  He  that  is  of  God,"  said  the  Saviour,  "  heareth  God's 
words  :  ye,  therefore,  hear  them  not,  because  ye  are  not 
of  God ;"  that  is,  have  not  the  spirit  or  the  holy  image 
of  God.* 

There  is,  perhaps,  nothing  of  more  famihar  occur- 
rence, in  every  walk  of  life,  than  the  fact,  that  the 
reception  which  men  give  to  truth,  of  any  Icind,  is 
very  much  governed  by  their  feelings,  their  predilec- 
tions, their  j)i'opensities,  their  'prejudices.  The  ar- 
dent pohtician,  the  bigotted  ecclesiastical  sectary,  the 
pledged  philosophical  partizan,  can  easily  resist  the 
force  even  of  demonstration  itself,  when  it  contravenes 
the  wishes  and  the  interests  of  their  respective  parties. 
Nay,  scarcely  can  the  evidence  of  his  own  senses  over- 
come the  blind  prejudice  of  one  who  is  predisposed  and 
predetermined  not  to  admit  an  unwelcome  truth.  Now. 
the  operation  of  this  principle  is  not  only  discernible, 
but  it  is  manifested  with  peculiar  fre(|uency  and  force 

*  .Tolm  iii.  10.     1  Corinflii.ms  ii,  14,    2  Cor,  iv.  3.  4.    .Tolin  viii.  47 


J3IHC.  VI.  REVEALED  TRUTH,  ETC  205 

in  the  province  of  religion.     We  may  imagine  a  thou- 
sand mathematical,  philosophical,  or  other  speculative 
questions,  in  solving  which  our  minds  may  be  said  to 
be  entirely  impartial.     Because  the  solution  of  them, 
in  one  way  or  another,  can  shock  none  of  our  preju- 
dices, thwart  none  of  our  passions,  interfere  with  none 
of  our  pleasures,  dethrone  none  of  our  idols.     But  not 
so  with  the  question,  whether  the  religion  of  the  Bible 
••is  a  faithful  saying,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation?" 
Perhaps  it  is  not  going  too  far  to  say,  that  the  pure  doc- 
trines and  spirit  of  the  Gospel  are  more  irreconcilably 
opposed  to  the  natural  feelings  and  spirit  of  fallen  man, 
than  any  thing  else  that  ever  came  from  the  Author  of 
all  good.     The  large  demand  which  genuine,  undefiled 
Christianity  makes  on  the  submission  of  the  under- 
standing to  sublime  mysteries ;   the  humiliating  esti- 
mate which  it  presents  of  the  moral  condition  of  man  ; 
the  abasing  method  of  approach  to  God,  and  of  ac- 
ceptance with  him,  which  it  announces ;  the  mighty 
transformation  of  the  desires,  affections,  and  habits  of 
the  soul  which  it  requires  ;  and  the  humility,  self-denial, 
penitence,  and  habitual  separation  from  the  spirit,  max- 
ims, and  practices  of  the  world  which  it  calls  upon  those 
who  receive  it  to  exercise ; — these  are  all  as  diametri- 
cally opposed  as  can  well  be  imagined  to  the  taste  of 
the   unrenewed  heart.      They    are    "hard   sayings," 
which  many  cannot  and  will  not  "  bear."     Is  it  won- 
derful, then,  that,  with  this  native  and  strong  bias 
against  the  Gospel,  its  entire  rejection,  in  speculation  a« 


'iOG  THE  REJECTION  OF  BISC.  VI. 

well  as  in  practice,  should  be  an  event  of  frequent  oc- 
currence ?  If  the  account  which  the  scriptures  give  of 
Imman  nature  be  true,  the  existence  of  this  corrupt 
bias  is  unquestionable.  And  if  it  exist,  then  it  must 
be  the  grand  source  of  all  inlidelity.  In  vain  are  the 
evidences  of  Christianity,  in  all  their  extent  and  power, 
set  in  array  before  a  mind  under  the  governing  influence 
of  this  hostile  feeling.  Miracles,  prophecy,  and  all  the 
external  and  internal  testimony  which  the  Gospel  has 
to  offer  in  its  own  favour,  are  lost  upon  such  a  mind. 
Nay,  even  when  the  difficulties  of  unbelief  are  palpably 
made  to  appear  greater,  far  greater,  than  those  of  faith : 
still  he  is  not  convinced.  Every  thing  is  seen  with  a 
jaundiced  eye.  Testimony  of  the  most  weighty  and 
powerful  kind  becomes  light  as  air,  when  thrown  into  the 
scale  against  rooted  prejudice,  and  strong  inclination. 

I  am  aware  that  unbelievers  are  commonly  fond  of 
representing  their  opinions  as  derived  from  reason  ;  as 
the  offspring  of  free  and  candid  inquiry.  But  did  you 
ever  know  an  individual  of  this  class,  who  really  was 
in  the  habit  of  seriously  studying  the  Bible,  or  who  ap- 
peared at  all  disposed  to  make  either  the  evidences  or 
the  doctrines  of  Christianity  the  object  of  close  and 
earnest  examination  ?  Did  you  ever  know  an  infidel 
who  seemed  to  become  such  by  serious  investigation ; 
by  sober  argument ;  by  carefully  weighing  the  testi- 
mony which  the  word  of  God  presents  in  favour  of  its 
heavenly  origin  ?  I  will  venture  to  say,  you  never  did, 
\o :  when  men  become  Christians — I  mean  intelligent 


IJISC.   VI.  REVEALED  TRUTH,  ETC  '^07 

and  genuine  Chrislians  ; — the  only  clasK  of  which  the 
Bible  knows  any  thing ; — they  become  such,  under  the 
Divine  blessing,  by  means  of  serious  thought  and  con- 
sideration ;  by  anxious  inquiry ;  by  earnest  prayer. 
But  men  commonly  become  infidels  by  ignorance,  by 
thoughtlessness,  by  pride,  by  prejudice,  by  turning  away 
their  minds  from  the  Bible,  and  from  all  sober  inquiry  ; 
by  forgetting  God  ;  and  by  flying  from  all  appropriate 
reflection  on  his  character,  and  the  claims  which  he 
asserts  on  his  rational  creatures.  They  are  not  willing 
to  cherish  the  affections,  and  to  perform  the  duties 
which  Christianity  requires,  and,  therefore,  they  are  not 
willing  to  believe  its  doctrines  ;  and  can  scarcely  be  pre- 
vailed upon  to  read  the  smallest  manual,  or  to  listen  to 
a  single  serious  conversation,  intended  for  their  defence. 
Perhaps  it  will  be  asked,  then,  whether  we  mean  to 
assert  that  the  votaries  of  unbelief  are  none  of  them 
sincere  in  their  rejection  of  the  Gospel  ?  If  by  the 
term  sincere  be  meant,  that  they  are  not  gross  hypo- 
crites ;  but  have  really  succeeded  in  persuading  them- 
selves that  Christianity  is  a  fable  ;  I  am  far  from  deny- 
ing that  some  of  them  may  be,  in  this  sense,  sincere. 
For  '•  there  is  a  way  which  seemeth  right  to  a  man, 
but  the  end  thereof  are  the  ways  of  death."  But  is 
this  the  proper  meaning  of  the  word  sincere,  as  found 
in  scripture,  and  in  the  diction  of  all  sound  moral 
teachers?  By  no  means.  By  sincerity  the  Bible 
means  genuine  fairness  and  honesty  of  mind ;  a  cor- 
dial desire  to  know  and  obey  the  truth ;  a  spirit  of 


20b>  THE  REJECTION  OF  DISC.  VJ. 

humble,  candid,  impartial  inquiry ;  a  faithful  use  of 
the  laest  means  within  our  reach  for  ascertaining 
the  truth.'  Now,  if  such  real  sincerity  as  this,  be  gene- 
rally found  in  those  who  reject  the  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ,  then  all  scripture,  and  all  experience,  must  be 
abandoned  as  delusive  in  their  testimony. 

If  the  children  of  unbelief  were  really  actuated  b} 
that  spirit  of  candid  inquiry,  and  rational  conviction, 
which  they  claim ;  can  it  be  imagined  that  their  man- 
ner of  investigating  and  treating  the  rehgion  of  Jesus 
Christ,  could  be  such  as  it  too  commonly  is?  The 
great  objects  of  contemplation  and  inquiry  which  this 
religion  presents,  are  the  most  momentous  and  awful 
that  can  occupy  the  minds  of  rational  beings.  The 
character  of  God  ;  the  relations  which  we  bear  to  Him  ; 
the  method  of  acceptance  with  Him  ;  the  service  which 
he  requires ;  and  the  eternal  destiny  which  awaits 
us  ; — these  are  the  mighty  subjects  which  occupy  the 
pages  of  the  Christian's  Bible.  Now,  is  it  possible  to 
conceive  of  subjects  which  demand  more  grave  and 
solemn  consideration  than  these?  Can  it  be  beheved 
that  levity,  sneer,  habitual  ridicule,  and  profane  scoffing 
become  the  discussion  of  matters  so  infinitely  impor- 
tant ?  Is  it  possible  for  those  who  are  really  candid 
and  in  earnest  in  their  inquiiies  after  truth,  habitually 
to  assail  the  Christian  Revelation  with  such  weapons  ? 
Yet  these  are  the  weapons  with  which  infidelity  has 
been  accustomed,  in  all  ages,  to  assail  the  Gospel  of 
<''hrist.     If  the  annals  of  inftdelitv  ever  furnished  ;in 


DISC.    VI.  HEVEALEJJ  TRUTH,  ETC.  ^09 

instance  of  one  who  was  disposed  to  treat  Christianity 
with  seriousness  and  respect ;  who  read  with  unceas- 
ing diligence  what  has  been  written  in  its  favour,  as 
well  as  against  it ;  who  earnestly  sought  for  Divine 
direction  in  his  inquiries ;  and  who  habitually  treated 
the  whole  subject  as  one  of  infinite  moment ; — I  con- 
fess it  is  more  than  ever  came  to  my  knowledge.  Now 
what,  I  ask,  is  the  indication  of  such  a  fact  1  Is  thi^; 
a  symptom  of  pure,  or  of  corrupt  origin  ?  Surely  when 
Religion  is  in  question,  a  spirit  of  levity  and  profane- 
ness  is  an  evil  spirit,  if  there  be  any  distinction  between 
right  and  wrong  in  the  universe. 

The  same  charge  of  unhallowed  origin  is  still  further 
estabhshed  against  the  spirit  of  unbelief,  by  the  un- 
doubted fact,  that  while  its  votaries  are  unceasing  and 
ardent  in  their  efforts  to  draw  those  around  them  from 
the  religion  of  Christ ;  they  discover  no  serious  desire 
either  to  practise  themselves,  or  to  inculcate  on  others, 
tha^i  which  they  profess  to  believe.  The  greater  part  of 
those  who  reject  Christianity,  profess  to  believe  that 
there  is  a  God,  who  made,  and  who  governs  the  world ; 
who  will  finally  bring  men  to  judgment;  and  who 
ought  to  be  loved  and  worshipped.  But  does  their  pro- 
fessed creed  appear  to  exert  the  smallest  practical 
influence  on  their  own  lives?  Was  ever  an  infidel 
known  either  to  be  devoutly  strict  in  practising  the 
duties  of  natural  religion  himself,  or  to  manifest  any 
anxiety  to  inculcate  those  duties  on  his  fellow-men  '!■ 
I  never  heard  ol'  such  a  case  ;  and  must  he  allowed  to 
97 


210  THE  REJECTION  OF  DISC.  V]. 

doubt  whether  such  a  case  ever  existed.  The  infer- 
ence is  unavoidable.  The  spirit  of  infidehty,  in  dis- 
cardinfi^  Revealed  Religion,"  practically  discards  all  reli- 
gion. Its  essential,  characteristic  spirit  is  that  of  utter 
impiety.  It  does  not  seriously  regard  what  it  pro- 
fesses to  believe.  Its  ruling  passion  is  to  pull  down, 
without  building  up.  There  is  no  system  of  princi- 
ples to  which  it  honestly  and  consistently  adheres. 
Now  can  any  thinking  man  doubt,  for  a  moment, 
whence  such  a  spirit  derived  its  origin  ?  It  cannot  pos- 
sibly flow  from  any  other  than  an  evil  source. 

Another  mark  of  the  vmhallowed  origin  of  unbelief, 
is,  that  it  is  so  often  found  unwilling  to  acknowledge 
itself;  nay  disposed  meanly  to  deny  its  own  existence, 
and  perhaps  hypocritically  to  profess  an  opposite  cha- 
racter. A  large  majority  of  the  most  distinguished  infi- 
dels who  have  lived  within  the  last  two  hundred  years, 
during  the  greater  part  of  their  lives  denied  their  infi- 
delity ;  wished  to  be  thought  Christians  by  the  mass  of 
society ;  and  onj^  to  confidential  friends  were  willing  to 
avow  their  unbelief.  Lord  Bolingbroke  professed 
himself  a  Christian  ;  availed  himself,  as  far  as  possible, 
of  all  the  temporal  advantages  which  such  a  profession 
could  secure  ;  and  provided  for  the  full  disclosure  of  his 
real  opinions,  by  committing  to  a  needy  profligate  the 
publication  of  his  writings  after  his  death.  The  same 
cowardly  and  hypocritical  course  has  been  pursued  by 
many  others,  and  continues  to  mark  the  spirit  of  infi- 
delity, in  our  own  country,  as  well  as  elsewhere,  up  to 
the  present  time.     Is  it  necessary,  my  friends,  to  bring 


?»ISG.  VI.  REVEALED  Till  TlJ.*ETf.  'i\\ 

hibouied  proof  that  the  origin  of  such  a  spirit  is  "  evil '!" 
When  falshood,  meanness,  treachery  and  hypocris} 
can  be  reconciled  with  manly  virtue  ;  when  acting  over 
again  the  conduct  of  Judas  Iscariot  can  be  com- 
mended to  imitation ; — then,  and  not  till  then,  may 
such  a  spirit  be  pronounced  honest  and  honourable. 

Again  ;  the  history  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  manj^ 
of  the  most  common  cases  of  infidelity,  plainly  demon- 
strates that  its  source,  no  less  than  its  nature,  is  evil. 
Thousands  of  the  young,  as  well  as  of  the  aged,  have 
been,  manifestly,  drawn  into  infidelity  by  their  evil  pas- 
sions, and  their  vices.  The  history  of  many  a  youth- 
ful .victim  of  unbelief,  has  been,  in  substance,  as  fol- 
lows. He  was  taught,  from  the  cradle,  to  reverence 
the  Bible,  and  instructed,  both  by  precept  and  exam- 
ple, to  attach  importance  to  the  great  sanctions  which 
it  unfolds.  In  the  outset,  and  comparative  innocence 
of  his  course,  when  his  plans  were  sober,  and  his  habits 
regular,  the  instructions  of  his  youth  exerted  a  command- 
ing influence  on  his  conscience.  Heaven  and  hell  were 
to  him  solemn  realities ;  and,  though  not  truly  pious, 
he  revered  piety  in  others,  and  hoped,  one  day,  to  pos- 
sess it  himself.  But,  by  and  by,  when  he  entered  on 
the  gay  world ;  when  false  honour  began  to  dazzle, 
and  criminal  pleasure  to  allure  ;  when  licentious  habits 
gradually  unfolded  their  attractions,  and  ungodly  com- 
panions rendered  him  familiar  with  scenes  of  profane- 
ness  and  vice ; — he  was  not  slow  in  perceiving  that 
such   pursuits  were  altogether  inconsistent   with   thr 


€/  •  V     r 


y 


^^    C^|+v<S<ri/^ 


«^  ~  -^4 1.'  .  ^^' 


i..r*<n 


212  'I'lIK  REJECTION  or'  DISC.  VI. 

principles  of  his  education.  This,  at  first,  filled  him 
with  deep  anxiety.  The  conflict,  however,  in  its  power, 
did  not  last  long.  He  felt  obliged  either  to  abandon  the 
principles  of  his  youth,  or  to  give  up  his  unhallowed 
indulgences.  He  was  resolved  not  to  part  with  the 
latter  ;  and,  therefore,  gave  up  the  former.  At  first  ho 
hesitated ;  then  he  doubted,  or  rather  tried  to  doubt ; 
then  he  disbelieved :— not  because  he  had  examined, 
and  found  religion  false ;  but  because  he  had  made  it 
necessary,  for  his  own  peace  of  mind,  to  believe  it  false. 
He,  at  length,  succeeded  in  persuading  himself  that  all 
his  former  seriousness  and  scruples  were  idle  dreams  : 
that  he  might  live  as  he  hsted  without  any  fear  of  an 
hereafter ; — until,  in  the  end,  he  became  prepared  to 
take  his  stand  with  the  most  determined  enemies  of 
the  Gospel,  and  even  to  "  sit  in  the  seat  of  the  scorn- 
ful." Now,  can  any  one  doubt,  that,  in  all  such  cases, 
unbelief  is  the  offspring,  not  of  sober  inquii-y,  but  of 
corrupt  inclination  ;  not  of  a  sincere  and  candid  search 
after  truth ;  but  of  a  desire  to  be  liberated  from  the 
restraints  which  the  religion  of  Christ  imposes  ? 

On  the  same  principle,  it  has  so  often  happened,  to 
persons  of  more  mature  age,  that  when  they  were  in 
plain  and  humble  life,  they  professed  to  be  serious  be- 
lievers in  Christ,  and  appeared  to  be  truly  pious.  But. 
when  they  became  rich ;  rose  in  station  and  conse- 
quence ;  and  were  surrounded  with  the  means  of  luxu- 
rious indulgence,  and  fashionable  hving; — they  not 
oidy  declined  in  spiritijality  :  but  often  abandoned  their 


DISC.  VI,  REVEALED  TRUTH,  ETC.  2\'.> 

old  religious  connections  ; — and  either  attached  them- 
selves to  some  ecclesiastical  body  accustomed  to  allow 
greater  laxity  of  life ;  or,  perhaps,  still  more  frequently, 
fell  into  entire  scepticism,  and  became  openly  regard- 
less of  all  religion. 

There  is  also,  another  fact,  of  very  frequent  occur- 
rence, and  strongly  illustrative  of  the  same  great  prin- 
ciple. We  have  all  seen  cases,  in  the  buoyant  season 
of  health,  prosperity  and  pleasure,  when  the  tide  ol" 
animal  feeling  ran  high,  and  the  splendour  and  fascina- 
tions of  the  world  captivated  the  heart ; — we  have  seen 
infidelity,  in  such  cases,  triumphant.  But  when  the 
scene  was  changed  ;  when  the  hour  of  deep  affliction, 
or  of  death,  arrived  ;  and  when,  of  course,  the  illusions 
of  appetite  and  ambition  were  in  a  great  measure  with- 
drawn ; — then  the  haughtiness,  and  even  the  confi- 
dence of  unbelief  were  abandoned ;  the  Bible  was  no 
longer  a  despised  book ;  the  minister  of  rehgion  be- 
came a  welcome  visitant;  the  voice  of  prayer  was 
heard  with  deep  interest;  and  the  Christian's  God 
sought  with  intense  earnestness  of  spirit.  How,  my 
friends,  shall  we  account  for  facts  like  these?  The 
aolution  is  neither  remote  nor  questionable.  That  spirit 
which  is  generated  and  nourished  by  "  the  lust  of  the 
flesh,  the  lust  of  the  eye,  and  the  pride  of  Ufe ;"  which 
always  flourishes  most  in  scenes  of  licentious  pleasure ; 
a  ad  which  generally  dies,  or  loses  its  confidence  at  the 
approach  of  affliction  and  death,  cannot  be  the  product 
of    cither  virtuous   feehng,    or   sober  inquiry.      The 


214  J'HE  REJECTION  OF  DISC.  VI. 

••  heart  of  unbelief,"  then,  is  evil,  deplorably  evil  in  its 
origin.  The  Gospel  would  have  no  enemies,  if 
IT  vvtere  not  the  enemy  op  all  sinful  in- 
dulgence. 

But  if  the  nature  and  the  sources  of  unbelief 
are  "  evil" — 

III.  No  less  evil  are  its  effects. 

Our  blessed  Saviour  has  taught  us  to  judge  of  all 
moral  professions  and  claims  by  this  test.  "  Therefore," 
said  He,  "  by  their  fruits  shall  ye  know  them."  And 
it  is  a  test  as  reasonable  in  its  character,  as  it  is  Divine 
in  its  authority.  For,  as  that  tree  which,  in  all  cases. 
in  every  kind  of  soil,  and  under  every  mode  of  cul- 
ture,— still  brings  forth  evil  fruit, — must,  of  course,  be 
pronounced  evil  in  its  nature  ;  so  that  system  of  opi- 
nions, which  is  invariably  found,  in  every  variety  of 
situation,  to  lead  its  votaries  away  from  all  that  is  good, 
both  in  temper  and  practice ;  and  to  render  them,  if 
not  openly  profligate,  at  least  strikingly  defective  in 
those  virtues  which  form  the  essential  elements  of  in- 
dividual and  social  excellence  ;  and  quite  as  strikingly 
prone  to  those  vices  which  are  destructive  to  all  the 
most  precious  interests  of  men  ; — such  a  system  must 
be  evil,  07ily  evil ;  and  cannot  fail  of  being  a  curse  to 
society  in  proportion  to  its  prevalence. 

That  unbelief  really  is,  and  must  ever  be,  thus 
essentially  "  evil "  in  its  effects,  will  be  evident  to  all 
who  impartially  consider,  either,  on  the  one  hand,  the 
fjorfrifips  whirb  if  inculcates;   or.  on  the  other,  the 


DlriC.  VI.  HKVEALED  TKUTH,  ETC.  215 

'practical  inorallty  with  which  it  is  daily  seen  to  be 
connected. 

With  regard  to  the  doctrines  which  unbeUef  incul- 
cates, they  are,  notoriously,  as  to  the  great  mass  of 
them,  radically  and  essentially  corrupt.  It  has,  indeed, 
been  often  remarked,  and  with  great  justice,  that  infi- 
delity HAS  NO  PRINCIPLES.  That  is,  not  only  is 
there  no  one  system  of  doctrine  in  which  its  votaries 
are  generally  agreed ;  but  it  is  an  equally  undoubted 
fact,  that  almost  every  religious  and  moral  principle, 
however  fundamental,  has  been,  in  turn,  doubted,  or 
exphcitly  rejected,  by  the  most  eminent  leaders  in  their 
ranks.  In  truth,  there  was  scarcely  the  smallest  exag- 
geration in  the  charge  of  the  satirist,  when  he  said, 
that  the  sum  of  their  creed  is  "  to  believe  in  all  unbe- 
Mef."  Every  thing,  with  them,  if  not  directly,  is  at 
least  virtually  questioned  or  denied.  The  existence, 
the  perfections,  and  the  providence  of  God  ;  a  state  of 
rewards  and  punishments  hereafter  ;  the  fixed  and  im- 
mutable distinction  between  right  and  wrong ;  the 
holy  Sabbath ;  the  marriage  tie  ;  gratitude ;  forgive- 
ness of  injuries  ;  and  the  tenderest  charities  of  domes- 
tic and  social  hfe  ; — have  all  been  stigmatized  and  re- 
nounced, as  weak  and  mischievous  prejudices  ;  and  the 
innocence  of  the  worst  crimes  boldly  maintained. 
There  is,  in  fact,  hardly  a  doctrinal  truth,  or  a  practical 
virtue,  which  has  not  been  called  in  question,  if  not 
scornfully  rejected,  by  distinguished  leaders  in  vmbelief. 
Nay,  infidelity  daily  sanctions,  as  innocent,  if  not  com- 


■^10  THE  REJECTION  UF  UlttC.   VI, 

inendable,  some  of  the  most  pestiferous  vices  which 
poison  and  disturb  human  society : — pride,  ambition, 
avarice,  raahce,  revenge,  duelhng,  suicide,  selfishness, 
and  profligate  sensuahty,  have  all  found  zealous  advo- 
cates among  the  enemies  of  the  Bible,  and  may,  in- 
deed, all  be  said  to  grow  out  of  infidel  speculations. 
The  truth  is,  infidelity  sinks  the  question  of  right  and 
wrong  into  a  mere  calculation  of  worldly  interest,  or 
political  enactment.  It  has  rio  barrier  to  present  against 
the  raging  appetites,  and  worst  passions  of  men,  except 
some  philosophical  theories,  which  are  destitute  alike  of 
fixed  character,  and  of  commanding  authority.  The 
direct  tendency  of  its  doctrines,  of  course,  is,  to  take 
away  all  impression  of  the  evil  of  sin,  and  all  sense  of 
accountableness  for  actions ;  to  depreciate  and  dis- 
courage all  real  virtue ;  to  dissolve  every  moral  re- 
straint ;  and  to  bring  men  back  to  the  unbridled  reign 
of  every  brutal  appetite,  and  every  ferocious  passion. 
Now,  is  it  possible  to  conceive  that  such  principles,  or 
rather  such  absence  of  all  principle, — can  tend  to  pro- 
mote the  order,  purity  and  happiness  of  society  1  When 
men  renounce  all  belief  in  the  inspection  and  authority 
of  any  power  above  them ;  when  no  regard  for  an 
liereafter  inspires  either  hope  or  fear ;  in  a  word,  when 
they  consider  themselves  as  born,  like  the  brutal  tribes, 
merely  to  eat  and  drink,  and  sleep  and  die ; — will  they 
be  likely,  think  you,  to  live  any  Ijetter  than  bmtes,  oi- 
leally  to  adorn  their  rational  and  moral  nature ?  As 
Well  might  we  dream  of  darkness  begetting  light :  oi' 


DISC.   VI.  UEVEALKO  TRUTH,   ETC.  217 

of  committing  men  to  the  school  of  Satan  and  his 
angels,  to  be  trained  up  for  the  heavenly  paradise. 

And  as  the  speculative  opinions  of  the  votaries  of 
unbelief  are  generally  and  essentially  corrupt ;  so  their 
practice  has  been,  in  all  ages,  worthy  of  their  creed. 
Who,  let  me  ask,  ever  since  the  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ  has  existed  in  the  world,  have  been  most  con- 
spicuous for  the  regularity,  purity,  and  jjenevolence  of 
theii'  lives — infidels  or  Christians  ?  No  one  who  has 
eyes  to  see,  and  ears  to  hear,  and  candour  to  weigh  evi- 
dence, can  hesitate  a  moment  for  the  proper  answer. 
That  the  effect  of  unbelief  in  revealed  truth,  has  ever 
Ijeen  to  generate  moral  corruption,  is  attested  by  all 
history.  Not  that  all  infidels  have  been  immoral  men. 
Individuals  of  this  class,  have,  no  doubt,  now  and  then 
appeared,  who,  from  physical  temperament,  from  edu- 
cation, or  from  peculiar  circumstances  of  situation  or 
pursuit,  have  been  decent  and  regular  in  private  life. 
How  far,  indeed,  even  these  may  have  been  moulded 
and  constrained  by  the  Christian  influence  around 
them,  I  shall  not  attempt  to  estimate.  But  it  is  confi- 
dently maintained,  that  a  large  majority  of  those  who 
have  adopted  the  principles  of  unbelief,  have  been,  in 
all  ages,  conspicuous  for  their  licentious  practice.  Is  it 
not  unquestionable,  that  the  great  body  of  avowed  infi- 
dels have  been  less  pure,  less  rigid  in  all  their  moral 
habits,  less  confided  in,  even  by  one  another,  for  truth, 
candour,  and  incorruptible  integrity,  than  a  similar  mass 
of  those  who  are  known  to  be  Christians  ?  Do  we  not 
2R 


^18  THE  REJECTION  0I-'  DISC.  VJ. 

see  them,  in  a  word,  more  frequently  and  nnblushingly 
than  behevers,  neglecting  the  most  sacred  duties,  and 
violating  the  most  solemn  obligations  of  life,  whenever 
it  serves  their  worldly  interest  or  pleasure  ?  One  thing 
is  certain,  that  in  every  instance  in  which  we  have 
known  infidelity  to  pervade  a  community,  and  all 
Christian  restraint,  both  public  and  private,  to  be  taken 
off,  the  moral  result  has  not  only  been  unfavourable, 
but  dreadful,  beyond  the  power  of  language  to  describe  ! 
Let  it  be  remembered,  too,  that  this  general  repre- 
sentation does  not  apply  only  to  the  lowest  and  most 
unenlightened  class  of  unbelievers.  It  apphes  no  less 
strikingly  to  the  most  eminent  leaders  and  writers  of 
the  whole  band,  from  Celsus  and  Porphyry,  down  to 
the  latest  of  the  long  catalogue.  Read  the  history  and 
the  writings  of  the  most  noted  of  the  list ;  and  you 
will  find  many  of  them  to  have  been  men  of  the  most 
unbridled  and  shameful  profligacy,  and  all  of  them 
avowing  opinions,  which  they  were,  no  doubt,  wilhng 
to  have  considered  as  the  spirit  of  their  own  character, 
and  which,  if  carried  into  universal  practice,  would 
render  the  society  of  earth  a  foretaste  of  hell.  Read, 
for  example,  the  "  Confessions  of  Rousseau,^^  that  won- 
derful monument  of  perverted  genius,  who  undertook 
to  paint  his  own  likeness ;  and  you  will  behold  the 
portrait  of  one  of  the  most  polluted  and  miserable  of 
men.  Read  what  Voltaire  and  his  royal  patron  and 
companion  in  unbelief,  the  Prussian  monarch,  say  of 
each  other  :  and  you  will  find  one  of  the  most  revolting 


JJISC.   VI.  REVKALKD  TRUTH,   ETC.  2,111 

and  loathesonie  pictures  of  moral  baseness,  ever  pre- 
sented by  men  claiming-  a  decent  place  in  society.* 
Read  the  private  correspondence  of  Voltaire,  with 
D' Alertihert,  Diderot,  and  others,  their  couteiTiporary 
brethren  in  infidelity ;  and  you  will  see  that  there  was 
neither  truth  nor  honour  in  them  all ;  but  such  a 
wretched  compound  of  falshood,  envy,  malignity, 
hatred,  contempt  of  one  another,  and  contempt  of  all 
the  rest  of  the  world,  as  to  give  a  horrible  impression  of 
the  spirit  of  unbelief.  Read  the  account  which  Mr. 
Gibbon,  one  of  the  most  decent  of  the  whole  number, 
has  given  of  himself;  and  you  will  perceive,  amidst  all 
the  polish  and  splendour  of  hterary  culture,— no  single 
line  of  moral  beauty ;  no  fear  of  God ;  no  reverence 
for  sacred  things  ;  no  regard  for  the  welfare  of  the  hu- 
man race ; — but  the  most  heartless  and  sordid  selfish- 
ness, vain  glory,  desire  of  admiration,  adulation  of  the 
great  and  wealthy,  contempt  of  the  poor,  and  supreme 
devotedness  to  his  own  gratification.  In  short,  I  have 
never  happened  to  know,  either  in  the  writings  or  life  of 
any  avowed  infidel,  a  single  instance  of  entirely  correct 
and  edifying  moral  example.  Never  have  I  been  so 
fortunate  as  to  see  or  hear  of  one  who  seemed  to  che- 
rish the  least  reverence  even  for  those  principles  of 
natural  religion,  in  which  he  professed  to  believe  ;  or  to 
know  any  thing  of   that  elevated   and  disinterested 


*  See  Voltaire's  works,  particularly  the  first  three  volumes,  ]2mo.  edition  ; — 
the  King  of  Prussia's  Posthumous  Works  ; — and  CondorccV s  Life  of  Voltaire 
for  ample  illustration  of  what  is  intended,  in  the  above  senfenre,  and  in  that 
which  immediately  succeeds. 


220  THE  REJECTION  OF  DISC.  VI. 

moral  excellence,  which  delights  in  doing  good,  and  is 
willing  to  make  sacrifices  for  the  promotion  of  human 
happiness. 

But  further  ;  who,  let  me  ask,  have  ever  been  found, 
throughout  Christendom,  most  zealous  and  active  in 
forming  and  executing  plans  for  the  benefit  of  man- 
kind? What  class  of  persons  have  ever  been  most, 
liberal  in  expending  their  time,  their  labour,  and  their 
property,  for  instructing  the  ignorant,  and  reclaiming 
the  vicious;  for  feeding  the  hungry,  clothing  the  naked, 
and  extending  knowledge,  virtue  and  happiness  in  th(' 
world ; — what  class,  I  say,  have  ever  been  found  most 
ready  for  every  such  good  work — infidels  or  Chris- 
tians ?— My  friends,  it  would  be  an  insult  to  your  un- 
derstandings to  suppose  a  formal  answer  necessary. 
You  know  that  ninety-nine  parts  out  of  an  hundred  of 
these  labours  of  benevolence,  are  performed  by  sober, 
professing  Christians  ;  that  for  stimulating  themselves 
and  those  around  them  to  engage  in  these  labours,  their 
constant  appeal  is  to  Christian  principles  ;  and  that  to 
see  an  avowed  infidel,  or  even  an  habitual  neglecter  ol 
religion,  taking  any  distinguished  part  in  these  hal- 
lowed efforts  and  sacrifices,  is  one  of  the  rarest  occur- 
rences that  we  can  witness.  Now  when  it  is  considered 
that  the  class  of  sober  professing  Christians  do  not  now. 
and,  with  few  exceptions,  never  did,  constitute  even  n 
moiety  of  any  people — if  the  general  fact  be  con- 
i:eded — and  it  cannot  be  denied — the  argument  is  irre- 
sistible. 


DISC.  VJ.  REVEALED  TRUTH,  ETC.  221 

On  the  other  hand,  bjr  wliat  class  of  persons  arc 
the  great  mass  of  the  crimes  which  poUute  and  disturl) 
society  committed  ?  Go  to  the  records  of  our  criminal 
courts,  and  to  the  mournful  annals  of  our  State-prisons, 
and  ask  whose  are  the  blackest  names  on  their  humi- 
liating lists  ?  Are  they  Christians  ?  Are  they  devout 
believers  in  the  Bible?  Are  they  those  who  venerate 
and  love  the  holy  doctrines  and  precepts  which  the  Bi- 
ble contains  ? — No,  by  no  means.  They  are  infidels, 
either  open  or  secret.  Not  that  they  are  all  speculative, 
or,  what  are  commonly  called,  philosophical  unbelievers. 
Many  of  them  have  neither  intellect  nor  knowledge 
enough  for  this.  But  they  are  all  practical  unbelievers. 
They  are  all  neglecters,  if  not  despisers  of  the  Gospel. 
They  are,  proverbially,  those  who  make  light  of  the 
Bible,  who  hate  the  Bible,  who  reject  and  contemn  the 
authority  of  Him  who  came  "  to  redeem  us  from  all  ini- 
quity, and  to  purify  unto  himself  a  peculiar  people, 
zealous  of  good  works." 

Did  you  ever  know,  my  friends,  a  wicked  man,  who 
was  desirous  of  coriiipting  the  virtuous,  of  seducing 
innocence,  or  of  leading  on  the  young  and  inexpe- 
rienced to  deeds  of  profligacy  and  shame ; — did  )^oii 
ever  know  such  an  one  to  aim  at  the  accomplishment 
of  his  object,  by  recommending  the  study  of  the  H0I3' 
Scriptures  ;  or  by  endeavouring  to  imbue  the  minds  of 
those  whose  ruin  he  sought,  with  the  principles  and 
spirit  of  the  Gospel  ?  No,  I  will  venture  to  say,  never. 
The  very  suggestion  of  taking  such  a  course,  would  be 


222  THE  RKJECTION  OF  DISC.  VI. 

deemed,  of  all  things,  one  of  the  most  preposterous. 
No,  the  only  method  ever  thought  of  by  the  teacher  of 
wickedness,  is  to  beget  in  the  mind  of  his  victim  as 
MUCH  UNBELIEF  AS  POSSIBLE  ;  to  place  the  character 
of  a  holy  God,  his  righteous  law,  the  threatenings  of 
his  word,  his  judgment  seat,  and  all  those  solemn 
realities  which  the  Bible  unfolds,  as  far  out  of  sight  as 
possible  ;  to  insinuate  that  they  are  all  a  fable  ;  and  to 
hold  up  the  doctrines,  the  duties,  and  the  ministers  ol" 
religion  to  hatred  and  scorn.  Can  either  the  fact,  or 
the  reason  of  it  be,  for  a  moment,  doubted  ?  And  does 
it  not  establish,  beyond  all  controversy,  a  connexion  of 
the  closest  and  most  indissoluble  kind  between  unbelief 
and  moral  corruption  ? 

Further ;  was  it  ever  known  that  any  son  or  daugh- 
ter of  Adam  was  reformed  from  a  wicked  life,  by  em- 
bracing infidel  opinions?  We  have  all  known  many 
and  striking  examples  of  reformation  from  the  most 
degrading  vices  effected  by  the  power  of  Christian 
principle.  We  have  seen  the  aljandoned  drunkard 
made  a  sober  man  ;  the  fraudulent-,  honest ;  and  the 
profligate  voluptuary  transformed  into  a  model  of  self- 
denial,  by  the  converting  grace  of  the  Gospel.  But 
have  we  ever  seen  or  heard  of  men  thus  reformed  by 
the  power  of  unbelief  ?  Nay,  is  not  such  an  efll'ect  of 
infidel  principles,  a  thing  so  perfectly  unheard  of,  in  all 
the  mutations  of  human  character,  as  to  render  the 
very  thought  of  it  almost  ridiculous  ?  Yet,  if  infidelity 
be  the  rational  and  benijjn  svstem  which  its  advocates 


DISC.  VI.  REVEALED  TRUTH,  ETC.  2'2S 

allege  it  to  be,  why  should  such  facts  be  unknown? 
or,  rather,  why  should  they  not  be  the  occurrences  of 
every  day  ?  The  answer  is  unavoidable.  I  can  think 
of  no  consideration  which  it  is  possible  to  urge  by  way 
of  reply,  which  does  not  deeply  fasten  upon  unbelief  the 
Avliole  charge  which  I  am  endeavouring  to  establish. 

Again ;  did  you  ever  hear  a  malefactor,  about  to  die 
by  the  hand  of  public  justice,  acknowledging  as  a  fault, 
or  lamentijig  as  a  misfortune,  that  he  had  been  more 
attentive  than  he  ought  to  have  been  to  the  great  prm- 
ciples  and  duties  of  religion  ;  and  ascribing  the  errors 
and  crimes  of  his  life  to  his  having  allowed  himself  to 
come  too  much  under  the  power  of  the  Gospel  ?  There 
is  no  risk  in  saying,  that,  among  all  the  myriads  who 
have  expired  on  the  gallows,  such  a  case  was  never 
mtnessed.  But  O  how  often  has  the  dying  culprit 
been  heard  to  confess  with  anguish  and  tears,  that 
infidel  sentiments  led  him  astray ;  that  the  rejection  of 
the  Bible  gradually  led  to  profaneness,  to  intemperance, 
to  lewdness,  to  fraud,  to  robbery,  perhaps  to  murder, — 
and  at  length  to  the  infamy  of  a  felon's  death  ! 

I  am  aware  that  it  will  be  said,  by  those  who  are 
determined  to  resist  all  evidence  on  this  subject,  that 
many  professing  Christians  have  been  as  immoral 
as  other  men  ;  that  persons  calling  themselves  Chris- 
tians, have,  m  all  ages,  in  the  name  of  Christ,  and 
under  the  cloak  of  religion,  committed  enormous  crimes. 
This  is,  no  doubt,  a  fact ;  and  yet  it  does  not,  in  the 
least  degree,  weaken  our  argument,  or  militate  against 


Y&   ^t' 


',^24:  THK  KKJKCTIUN   Of 


the  doctrine  of  our  text.  On  the  contrary,  it  rather 
confirms  every  word  which  has  been  uttered.  Were 
these  persons  real,  or  only  nominal  Christians?  Nay, 
infidels  themselves  are  witnesses  that  they  were  nomi- 
nal Christians  only.  Why  else  have  they,  with 
few  dissenting  voices,  acknowledged  that  the  morality 
of  the  Bible  is  the  best  in  the  world  ?  WTiy  have  even 
those  who  dechned  making  this  concession,  ever  been 
fond  of  stigmatizing  such  immoral  professors  of  religion, 
as  hypocrites  ;  as  acting  a  part  grossly  inconsistent  with 
their  profession  ?  For  if  the  genuine  spirit  and  ten- 
dency of  the  religion  they  professed,  had  been  to  pro- 
duce such  fruits  as  these, — then  they  were  not  hypo- 
crites, but  sincere  and  consistent.  But  the  fact  is,  it 
was  because  they  were  7iot  real  Christians ; — it  was 
because  they  were  not  real  believers,  as  they  said ; — in 
other  words,  were  infidels  in  disguise,  that  they 
acted  so  unworthy  a  part.  Were  all  men  sincere, 
practical  believers  in  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  wars  would 
cease ;  persecution,  fraud,  oppression,  slander,  revenge, 
intemperance,  and  every  species  of  licentiousness, 
would  be  banished  from  the  earth  : — and  the  universal 
prevalence  of  the  humihty,  the  meekness,  the  self-denial, 
the  benevolence,  the  forgiveness,  the  equity,  and  the 
purity  which  genuine  Christianity  every  where  enjoins 
would  render  this  world  a  foretaste  of  heaven.  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  were  the  principles  and  spirit  of 
infidehty  to  pervade  the  world; — were  all  belief  in 
responsibility  to  a  holy  God.  in  a  righteous  judgmeni 


lilUV.  VI.  REVEALED  TKUTH,  ETC.  225 

to  come,  and  in  the  great  doctrines  of  the  Christian 
.salvation,  to  be  banished  from  among  men  ; — the  effect 
would  be,  as  experience  has  fully  demonstrated,  to 
annihilate  all  order,  and  all  virtue ;  and  to  assimilate 
the  society  of  earth  to  that  of  demons  and  accursed 
spirits  in  their  dark  abodes. 

Such,  my  friends,  is  a  brief  sketch  of  the  evidence 
that  the  heart  of  unbehef  is  "  an  evil  heart."  It  is  evil 
in  its  NATURE,  evil  in  its  causes,  and  evil  in  its  ef- 
fects. It  is  the  vital  spirit  of  all  impiety,  and  of  all 
moral  corruption.  It  is  the  natural  offspring  of  pride, 
vanity,  levity,  sensuality,  ambition,  and  of  every  evil 
principle.  It  was  unbelief  that  deceived,  seduced  and 
ruined  our  first  parents  ;  and  which,  from  the  hour  of 
their  fall,  has  been  the  grand  source  of  blindness, 
deception,  rebellion,  profligacy  and  perdition  among 
their  guilty  posterity  in  every  age.  Unbelief  leads 
away  from  God,  from  truth,  from  order,  and  from  hap- 
piness. It  perverts  the  understanding ;  it  hardens  the 
heart ;  it  sears  the  conscience ;  it  corrupts  the  whole 
moral  structure  of  the  man.  It  unfits  men  for  the 
noblest  enjoyments  and  services  of  the  present  hfe,  and 
prepares  them  for  that  abyss  of  the  damned,  "  where 
the  worm  dieth  not,  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched : 
where  the  smoke  of  their  torment  ascendeth  forever  and 
ever." 

From  the  representation  which  has  been  given  of 
this  subject,  we  may  deduce  a  number  of  practical  in- 
29 


226  THE   REJECTION  OF  DISC.  VI. 

ferences  ;  to  some  of  which  your  attention  is  respectfully 
requested. 

1.  We  may  see  the  reason  why  Christian  laitli  is  so 
constantly,  in  Scripture,  enjoined  as  a  duty,  and 
the  absence  of  it  condemned  and  threatened  a.s 
A  SIN.  The  fact  is, — as  you  have  heard, — faith  is  so 
essentially  connected  with  the  state  of  the  heart,  and 
the  current  of  the  affections ; — its  very  nature  so  inse- 
j)arably  involves  moral  feeling,  practical  choice,  and  the 
spirit  of  obedience ;  that  where  it  is  present,  it  is  the 
germ  of  all  that  is  good  in  the  soul ;  and  where  it  is 
absent,  there  is  the  essence  of  rebellion.  When,  there- 
fore, every  tiling  in  the  religion  of  Christ  is  made  to  turn 
on  faith  ;  when  it  is  said,  "  He  that  belie veth  shall  be 
saved,  and  he  that  believeth  not,  shall  be  damned  ;"— 
it  is  as  if  the  language  of  Scripture  were, — "  He  who 
humbly,  candidly,  and  gratefully  accepts  of  offered 
mercy,  shall  be  savingly  benefited  by  it ;  but  he  who 
unthankfuUy  and  rebelliously  rejects  it,  and  turns  away 
from  God,  and  all  his  gracious  offers,  shall  have  no 
share  in  its  blessings."  Now,  is  this  unreasonable  ?  I^; 
it  not,  rather,  in  accordance  with  every  dictate  of  reason 
and  equity,  and  with  every  known  feature  of  the  Divine 
government?  Yes,  my  friends,  in  whatever  point  of 
light  we  contemplate  unbelief,  it  must  appear  morally 
criminal,  and  those  who  indulge  in  it  altogether  without 
excuse. 

2.  We  may  learn,  irom  what  has  been  said,  how 
many  and  great  are  the  evils  which  must  necessarily 


])ISC.  VI.  KE\-EALED  TRUTH.  ETC.  i^Ci 

flow  FROM  THE  DECLINE  AND  THE  WEAKNESS  OF 
FAITH   IN   THE    REAL  CHRISTIAN.       The  "  CvU  hcait 

of  unbelief"  is  not  confined  to  that  infidehty  which  is 
speculative  and  entire.  It  exists,  and  exerts  a  pesti- 
ferous influence,  in  the  case  of  many  a  sincere  believer. 
Our  blessed  Redeemer  often  reproved  his  disciples  for 
their  unbelief,  or  the  weakness  of  their  faith.  He  more 
than  once  said  to  them — "  Why  are  ye  fearful,  O  ye  of 
little  faith  ?'—'■  Wherefore  do  ye  doubt,  O  ye  of  little 
faith  ?" — Hence,  on  a  certain  occasion,  they  said  to  him 
with  earnestness — "  Lord,  increase  our  faith ;"  and 
being  "  strong  in  the  faith,"  is  emphatically  commended 
and  enjoined,  as,  at  once,  well  pleasing  in  the  sight  of 
God,  and  connected  with  rich  blessings  to  him  who 
possesses  it.  This  may  appear  strange  language  to  an 
unbelieving  v/orld,  and  may  carry  with  it  little  that  is 
either  intelligible  or  interesting  to  the  mere  formal  pro- 
fessor of  religion.  But  real  Christians  know  something 
of  its  meaning  and  force,  and  often  to  their  painful 
cost.  For,  if  the  foregoing  representation  be  just,  then 
it  is  manifest,  that  when  their  faith  is  weak,  every 
spiritual  feeling,  desire,  hope  and  enjoyment  must  be 
proportionally  weak.  When  their  faith  is  weak,  their 
hold  of  Christ,  if  I  may  so  speak,  though  still  real,  is 
feeble  and  nerveless ;  their  hearts  are  comparatively 
cold;  their  consolations  few  and  small;  their  fears  many 
and  distressing  ;  and  their  conversation,  generally,  less 
ornamental  to  religion,  and  less  edifying  to  those  around 
them.    Yes.  mv  friends,  when  you  see  Christians  cold. 


228  THE  REJECTION  OF  DISC.   VI. 

comfortle?!s,  declining  in  hallowed  feeling;,  and  relaxing- 
in  spiritual  activity  ; — in  a  word,  when  you  see  them 
backsliding  from  what  is  good,  either  in  heart  or  in  life, 
— you  may  sum  up  the  cause  of  the  whole  evil  in  one 
word — "  It  is  because  of  their  unbelief."  This  is  the 
worm  at  the  root  of  all  spiritual  duty,  prosperity,  and 
comfort.  It  is  because  they  have  so  little  faith 
that  divine  and  eternal  things  do  not  exert  a  more 
governing  influence  on  their  temper  and  practice.  If 
they  had  a  suificiently  strong  faith,  they  would  never 
be  cast  down,  and  would  never  he  found  going  astray. 
In  short,  faith,  among  the  Christian  graces,  is  like  the 
MAIN  spring  in  a  well  adjusted  machine.  Its  charac- 
ter affects  every  thing.  If  this  be  feeble,  every  move- 
ment must  be  of  like  character.  If  this  be  wrong,  all 
is  wrong.  But  if  faith  be  in  strong  and  lively  exercise. 
all  will  be  well.  The  hopes,  the  self-denial,  the  daily 
deportment,  and  the  habitual  joys  of  the  believer  will 
be  such  "  as  becometh  the  Gospel." 

3.  We  may  infer,  from  this  subject,  that  infidelity 
is,  in  every  respect,  hostile  to  the  best  inter- 
ests OF  civil  society.  Whatever  strikes  at  the 
root  of  moral  principle,  and  moral  purity,  will  ever  be 
found  to  give  a  fatal  blow  to  social  order,  and  political 
happiness.  An  infidel  people,  will  ever  be  an  im- 
moral, profligate  people ;  and  a  people  characteristically 
unmoral  and  profligate,  cannot  long  continue  to  be  a 
free  and  happy  people.  It  is,  indeed,  the  fashionable, 
and  ever-repeated  watchword  of  infidelity,  that  Religion 


DISC.  Vr.  REVEALED  TRUTH,   ETC.  221) 

is  about  to  enslave  us.  My  dear  brethren,  it  would  be 
just  as  true  and  rational  to  say,  that  the  light  of  the  sun 
is  about  to  spread  impenetrable  darkness  over  the  earth. 
Nothing  can  so  certainly  lead  to  the  most  enormous 
national  corruption,  and  eventual  slavery,  as  the  preva- 
lence of  infidelity.  Unbelief,  as  you  have  seen,  is  the 
teeming  parent  of  all  those  doctrines  and  influences 
which  form  the  elements  of  political  disorder,  violence, 
and  oppression.  And  if  ever  we  are  prepared,  as  a 
people,  to  bow  the  neck  to  a  despot,  either  civil  or  mili- 
tary, it  will  be  brought  about,  not  by  coming  under  the 
power  of  the  genuine  Gospel ;  but  by  closing  our  eyes 
against  its  light ;  turning  away  from  its  blessed  in- 
fluence ;  and  yielding  ourselves  to  the  power  of  that 
pestiferous  unbelief,  which  is,  of  all  things,  best  adapted 
to  banish  patriotism  ;  to  bring  society  under  the  profli- 
gate reign  of  ambition  and  voluptuousness  ;  to  under- 
mine every  principle  of  genuine  liberty  ;  and  to  convert 
our  population  into  hordes  of  cut-throats,  and  brutal 
sensualists.  The  recent  history  of  one  of  the  most 
refined  and  literary  nations  of  modern  times,  furnishes 
an  exemplification  of  these  remarks  which  it  would  be 
difiicult  to  exaggerate,  and  which  cannot  speedily  be 
forgotten.  Let  every  young  man,  then,  who  wishes 
to  serve  and  adorn  his  generation,  beware  of  this  evU  ! 
Let  every  Patriot,  who  seeks  the  true  honour  and 
welfare  of  his  country,  beware  of  it !  Let  every  one 
who  does  not  wish  to  see  our  favoured  nation  sinking 
into  the  common  grave  of  all  the  Republics  which  havp 


230  THE  RF.JECTION  OF  DISC.  VI. 

gone  lie  fore  her,  beware  of  this  pohtical,  ns  well  as 
individual  destroyer  ! 

4.  We  are  taught,  by  what  has  been  said,  that  if  we 
desire  to  bring  our  children,  and  others  committed 
to  our  care,  to  the  knowledge  and  love  of  the  truth  ; — 
we  must  not  content  ourselves  with    mere   frigid 

INSTRUCTION,  witll  MERE  ADDRESSES  TO  THE  IN- 
TELLECTUAL POWERS.  That  the  understanding  of 
every  rational  creature  is  to  be  primarily  addressed  on 
the  subject  of  religion,  is  certain  ;  for  we  desire  no  one 
to  yield  a  blind  faith  to  the  message  which  we  bring. 
But  if  we  desire  to  perform  our  duty  faithfully,  and 
Avith  happy  effect,  we  must  address  the  heart  as  well 
as  the  head.  We  must  take  measures  to  enhst  the 
WHOLE  MAN  in  the  great  subject.  We  must  endeavour 
to  make  a  lodgment  in  favour  of  the  Gospel  in  every 
power  of  the  mind  ;— in  the  memory,  the  conscience, 
the  affections,  and  aU  the  moral  habits  of  the  soul ; — 
and  that  from  the  earliest  dawn  of  reason.  The  moral 
as  well  as  the  intellectual  powers  are  gradually  deve- 
loped, and  the  former  no  less  than  the  latter  require 
assiduous  culture  ;  nay,  they  require  much  more  assi- 
duous and  laborious  culture,  because  this  species  of 
tuition  has,  of  all  others,  the  most  potent  obstacles  to 
encounter.  I  am  sensible  that  some  infatuated  parents 
object  to  the  course  here  recommended;  and  decline 
taking  it,  on  the  delusive  plea,  that  every  one  ought  to 
he  left  to  his  own  free  choice  of  religious  principles,  and 
fhat  the  mind  ought  not  to  be  early  pre-occupietl  with 


DlciC.  VI.  HEVKALED  TRUTH,  ETC.  Sdi 

what  many  call  "  prejudice"  on  this  subject.  Just  as 
reasonable  would  it  be  to  decline  informing  a  child, 
beforehand,  that  fire  will  burn  him,  if  he  thrust  his 
body  into  it ;  or  that  theft  and  lying  will  render  him 
infamous,  if  he  indulge  in  them ; — lest  he  should  be 
led  to  the  adoption  of  narroiv  prejudices  on  these  sub- 
jects. Can  we  too  soon  fill  the  minds  of  our  children 
with  abhorrence  of  every  thing  that  we  know  will  in- 
jure them,  either  m  body  or  soul  ?  Why  are  parents 
made  the  natural  guardians  of  their  young  and  tender 
offspring,  but  for  this  very  purpose  ?  Let  the  votary 
of  "  unbelief,"  or  of  indifference,  with  worse  than 
heathen  folly,  refuse  to  pre-occupy  the  minds  of  his 
children  with  religious  insti-uction. — Every  Christian, 
it  is  hoped,  will  feel  his  obligation  to  begin  this  task, 
as  early  as  the  immortal  souls  committed  to  his  care 
are  CAPABLE  op  receiving  it  ;  to  watch,  with  in- 
tense interest,  for  the  means  of  successful  approach  to 
their  minds  by  every  avenue  ;  and,  after  having  done 
all,  to  "  pray  without  ceasing"  for  the  energy  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  render  the  whole  effectual. 

And,  let  me  observe,  that,  if  this  duty  be  such  as  1 
have  stated,  it  opens  a  wide  field  for  the  early,  the 
unceasing,  and  the  prayerful  efforts  of  mothers,  to 
•  train  up  their  children  in  the  nurture  and  admonition 
of  the  Lord."  My  respected  and  beloved  sisters  in 
Christ,  on  you  devolves,  in  the  present  state  of  the 
church  and  the  world,  a  weight  of  responsibility  which 
can  neither  be  expressed  nor  measured.     Yours  is  tho. 


:i'62  THE  REJECTION  OF  BliSC.  VI. 

lask  to  impress  the  young  and  tender  mind  ;  to  direct 
the  early  workings  of  the  heart ;  to  pre-occupy  and  fill 
those  precious  powers,  of  which  evil  is  so  apt  to  take  an 
early  and  firm  possession ; — in  a  word,  to  form  the 
opening  character  of  immortal  spirits  for  God  and  hea- 
ven. More  has  been  done,  and  more  may  be  done,  by 
enlightened  and  pious  mothers,  to  erect  barriers  in  the 
soul  against  the  ravages  of  infidelity,  than  by  all  other 
earthly  powers  and  influences  together.  In  fact,  if 
these  barriers  be  ever  erected,  in  that  manner  which  is 
most  hkely  to  prove  effectual,  mothers  must  com- 
monly PERFORM  THE  WORK.  And  can  there  be  a 
more  elevated  or  momentous  employment  than  this 
assigned  to  a  mortal  1  Tell  me  not  of  the  intellectual 
force,  and  literary  achievements  of  a  Madame  De 
Stael,  and  others,  her  compeers,  if  compeers  she  had. 
in  her  splendid  career.  The  practical  wisdom,  the 
elevated  piet}'^,  and  the  hallowed  usefulness  of  such  an 
one  as  Isabella  Graham,  place  her  as  much  above 
the  most  lauded  of  those  literary  females,  "  as  the  hea- 
vens are  higher  than  the  earth."  Thei/  lived  to  dazzle, 
to  astonish,  or  to  amuse.  She  lived  to  do  good,  in  the 
largest  and  best  sense  of  the  word ; — to  dedicate  the 
vigorous  powers  which  her  Maker  had  given  her,  to  the 
best  interests  of  her  family,  and  her  generation  ; — to 
lead  her  children,  and  all  who  came  within  her  reach, 
to  the  faith,  the  obedience,  and  the  blessedness  of  the 
Gospel.*     While   I  hold  up  her  sainted  image,  this 

'■  Few  readers  noed  to  be  inforiricd  of,  what  was  perfectly  understood  by 
(vrry  Iiparer.  when  the  sermon  wn«  delivered, — that  (he  reference  here  is  to  the 


DISC.   VI.  KEVKALED  TRUTH,   ETC  233 

evening,  to  all  who  hear  nie,  I  would  say  to  every  one 
of  my  respected  countrywomen — Go,  and  do  thou 
LIKEWISE.  Oh,  if  we  had  thousands  hke  her,  it 
would  be  an  incalculable  blessing,  at  this  hour,  to  the 
American  church  and  nation  ! 

5.  We  may  learn  from  this  subject  tiie  reason  why 
the^rea^,  the  rich,  the  philosophical,  and  the  honour- 
able among  men  so  seldom  embrace  the  geniJine 
Gospel  ;  and  also  why,  when  they  do  profess  to  em- 
brace it,  they  so  rarely  appear  to  enter  heartily 
AND  thoroughly  INTO  ITS  SPIRIT.  The  reasou  is — 
not  that  there  is  any  deficiency  of  evidence  in  the  Gos- 
pel ;  not  that  there  is  any  lack  of  those  grand  and 
glorious  features  which  are  adapted  to  command  the 
veneration  of  the  most  cultivated  intellect.  But  the 
real  and  principal  reason  is,  that  men  '•  cannot  serve 
God  and  mammon."  The  Gospel  is  so  holy  in  its 
character ;  so  self-denying  in  its  nature ;  and  so  utterly 
at  war  with  the  habits,  maxims,  and  calculations  of 
those  who  make  a  god  of  this  world  ;  that  the  devotees 
of  fashion,  of  luxury,  and  of  ambition,  must,  of  course, 
dishke  it ;  and  either  reject  it  altogether,  or,  at  least, 
endeavour  to  hide  from  themselves  its  genuine  de- 
mands. No  wonder,  then,  that  in  those  churches  in 
which  the  Gospel  is  faithfully  preached ;  in  which  a 

late  Mrs.  Isabella  Graham,  a  native  of  Scotland,  who,  for  more  than  thirty 
years,  resided  in  tlie  city  of  JVeio  York,  where  her  bright  and  steady  Christian 
example,  and  her  enlightened,  active  and  unwearied  benevolence,  might  really 
be  said  to  form  an  era  in  our  annals  of  female  usefulness.  The  "  Memoirs"  of 
this  excellent  woman,  published  a  few  years  ago,  have  been  =n  extensively  rpnd, 
as  to  render  any  further  remark  unnecessary. 

3(1 


2'SA  THE  REJECTION  OF  DISC.  VI. 

spiritual  religion  is  constantly  insisted  on  ;  and  a  scrip- 
tural discipline  maintained  ; — separating,  as  far  as  the 
skill  of  man  can  go,  between  the  precious  and  the  vile ; 
—no  wonder  that,  in  such  churches,  the  votaries  of 
worldly  splendour  and  voluptuousness  are  seldom  found 
occupying  the  place  of  members  ;  and  that  when  they 
we  so  found,  they  generally  appear  to  feel  out  of  their 
element,  and  never  really  adorn  their  profession.  It  iS; 
indeed,  no  matter  of  wonder.  We  ought,  perhaps, 
rather  to  wonder,  that  persons  of  this  class,  are  ever 
found  even  stated  worshippers  in  such  churches.  O 
my  friends,  what  is  commonly  termed  fashionable  life, 
is  greatly,  nay,  irreconcilably  opposed  to  the  spirit  of 
the  Gospel : — its  parade,  its  toils,  its  conversation,  its 
v'anity,  its  amusements,  (even  supposing  every  form  of 
gross  sin  to  be  abhorred  and  avoided,)  are  all  hostile  to 
evangelical  religion.  Persons,  therefore,  who  supremely 
delight  in  these  things,  and  are  resolved  not  to  forsake 
them  ; — will  either  abandon  the  worship  of  God  alto- 
gether ;  or,  perhaps,  more  frequently,  resort  to  those 
places  of  worship  where  a  more  lax  and  superficial  sys- 
tem is  proposed,  under  the  name  of  Christianity ;  some 
system  which  frowns  very  little,  if  at  all,  on  the  licen- 
tious indulgences  and  dissipations  of  life ;  which  allows 
men  to  "  walk  in  the  way  of  their  hearts,  and  in  the 
sight  of  their  eyes,  fulfilling  the  desires  of  the  flesh  and 
of  the  mind  ;"  and  at  the  same  time  to  bear  the  name 
of  Clirist's  disciples,  and  to  cherish  the  confident  hope 


DISC.  VI.  REVKALED  TRUTH,  ETC.  235 

of  reaching  that  "  rest  which  remaiiieth  for  the  people 
of  God." 

6.  We  may  see,  in  the  hght  of  this  subject,  the 
ALARMING  SITUATION  OF  INFIDELS.  It  is  not  proba- 
ble that  there  are  any  of  this  class  now  within  the 
sound  of  the  preacher's  voice.  But  if  there  he  any,  I 
would  address  them. — not  in  the  language  of  "  railing 
accusation,"  but  in  that  of  unfeigned  good  will,  and 
concern  for  their  welfare ;  and  would  say — men  and 
brethren,  hearken  !  Your  situation  is  a  most  serious 
and  awful  one  !  If  the  real  character  of  unbelief  be 
such  as  I  have  stated  ;  if  it  be  evil  in  its  nature,  evil  in 
its  causes,  and  no  less  evil  in  its  effects ;  if  it  always 
arise  from  an  unhallowed  source,  and  always  carry  with 
it  the  essence  of  rebelhon  against  God ;  then, — I  repeat 
it — your  present  course  is  one  of  a^vful  guilt  and  dan- 
ger ;  and  its  end,  if  persisted  in,  cannot  fail  of  proving 
most  disastrous.  "  Who  hath  hardened  himself  against 
Jehovah,  and  hath  prospered  ?"  Unto  you  is  the  word 
of  salvation  sent.  Pardon  and  peace,  and  life  eternal 
are  freely  offered  you.  "  He  that  believeth  on  the  Son 
of  God  hath  Mfe ;  but  he  that  believeth  not  the  Son 
hath  not  hfe,  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him." 
"  Why  will  ye  die  ?" — Say  not,  that  God  has  given 
you  rational  powers  ;  and  that,  in  tlie  exercise  of  these 
powers,  you  have  not  been  able  to  beheve  the  Christian 
revelation  to  be  divine.  We  ask  no  one  to  exercise  a 
blind  faith.     We  call  upon  no  one  to  V»eiieve  without 


'236  THE  REJECTION  OF  DISC.  VI. 

evidence,  or  against  evidence.  But,  let  me  seriously  and 
affectionately  ask — Have  you  ever  carefully  and  can- 
didly appealed  to  the  rational  powers  of  which  you 
speak,  in  examining  this  great  question?  Are  you 
certain  that  pride,  prejudice,  and  corrupt  inclination,  are 
not  really  at  the  bottom  of  your  unbelief?  Have  you 
ever  given  that  precious  Bible,  which  God  has  sent  ex- 
pressly for  a  "  light  to  your  feet,  and  a  lamp  to  youi 
path" — one  serious,  candid  reading?  Did  you  ever 
sit  down  humbly  and  impartially  to  examine  the  evi- 
dences of  Christianity  ?  Have  you  resorted,  diligently 
and  patiently,  to  the  best  sources  of  instruction  on  this 
subject,  within  your  reach  ?  Are  you  really  ivilling  to 
lind  the  Gospel  "  a  faithful  and  true  saying  ?"  And 
have  j'^ou  ever  laid  open  your  minds,  by  frequent  and 
importunate  prayer,  to  the  God  of  all  grace, — beseeching 
Him  to  enhghten  and  guide  you,  in  your  investigation 
of  this  most  important  of  all  subjects?  If  you  have 
not  proceeded  in  this  manner ;  but  have  treated  the 
subject  with  leAdty  and  indifference,  neglecting  serious 
inquiry,  and  hardening  yourselves  against  the  love  and 
mercy,  as  well  as  the  terrors,  of  Him  who  made  you ; — 
then,  I  can  only  say,  as  an  inspired  apostle  said  to  one 
in  his  day — "  Repent  of  this  your  wickedness,  and 
pray  God  that  the  thoughts  of  your  hearts  may  be  for- 
given you ;  for  I  perceive  that  you  are  in  the  gall  of 
bitterness,  and  in  the  bond  of  iniquity."  What  you 
principally  need.  then,  is  not  more  logical  proof;  but  a 


DISC.  VI.  REVEALED  TRUTH,  ETC.  237 

more  honest,  impartial  disposition  ; — not  new  or  more 
potent  testimony  that  Christ  was  "  a  Teacher  sent  from 
God ;"  but  "a  new  heart  and  a  right  spirit,"  inchning 
you  to  receive  the  truth  with  grateful  affection.  May 
God,  of  his  infinite  mercy,  break  the  spell  of  infatua- 
tion which  binds  you,  and  make  you  to  "  know  the 
things  which  belong  to  your  peace,  before  they  are  for- 
ever hidden  from  your  eyes  !" 

7.  Finally ;  this  subject  teaches  us  the  unspeakable 
importance  of  Christians  showing  forth  their 
FAITH  BY  THEIR  WORKS.  It  has  been  often  and 
justly  remarked,  with  regard  to  ministers  of  the  Gospel, 
that  the  best  way  to  defend  and  propagate  Christianity, 
is,  not  to  stand  contending  with  infidels,  parrying  their 
objections,  and  refuting  their  cavils  ;  but  to  hold  forth 
incessantly,  in  all  their  genuine  simpUcity  and  power, 
the  peculiar  and  most  precious  doctrines  of  the  Gospel. 
So  I  believe  it  may  be  affirmed,  with  equal  propriety 
and  confidence,  that  the  best  way  for  each  individual 
believer  to  promote  the  spread  of  our  holy  rehgion,  is  to 

SET    AN    EMINENT     EXAMPLE    OF    HOLY  LIVING.       It 

Avas  once  said,  by  a  Female  Martyr,  of  feeble  body, 
but  of  firm  and  undaunted  spirit, — when  standing  be- 
fore her  merciless  persecutors,  who  endeavoured  to  per- 
plex and  confound  her  by  their  learned  subtleties — '•'  I 
cannot  meet  you  in  argument  for  Christ,  but  I  can 
DiE  FOR  Him."  My  dear  feUow-professois,  we  may 
not  bo.  called  to  ''die  for  Christ :"  but  we  can  all  live 


238  THE  REJECTION  OF  DISC.  VJ. 

FOR  Him.  Alas  !  that  this  is  the  very  last  thing  that 
many,  who  bear  the  Christian  name,  are  willing  to  do ! 
Verily,  I  fear  we  often  make  infidels  by  the 

MANNER  IN  WHICH  WR  DEFEND  AND  EXHIBIT   OUR 

RELIGION.  Let  me  call  upon  you,  then,  in  the  close 
of  this  discourse,  to  make  it  your  constant  study  to 
"  adorn  the  doctrine  of  God  your  Saviour  in  all 
things  ;" — not  by  high  claims  ; — not  by  angry  conten- 
tion ; — but  by  holy  and  exemplary  lives.  Let  it  be 
manifest  to  all  that  your  belief  is  sincere  and  practical, 
as  well  as  orthodox.  O  Christians  !  if  our  temper  and 
bves  were  always  entirely  in  harmony  with  our  profes- 
sion— we  should  see  much  fewer  unbelievers  around 
us.  A  distinguished  infidel  of  the  last  century,  after 
spending  a  few  days  at  the  house  of  an  eminently 
pious  minister,  of  high  hterary  as  well  as  religious  cha- 
racter, was  so  deeply  impressed  with  his  pure,  benevo- 
lent and  heavenly  conversation,  that  he  said  to  a  scep- 
tical friend, — "  I  must  leave  this  house.  If  I  remain 
here  a  day  longer,  I  shall  become  a  Christian  in  spite 
of  myself"  There  is  a  power  in  genuine  Christian 
example  which  cannot  be  expressed.  This  is  the  ho- 
liest and  happiest  of  all  victories  !  Happy  would  it  be 
for  ourselves  and  for  the  world,  if  such  victories  could  be 
more  frequently  celebrated.  And  they  would  be,  if  we 
were  not  aU  deficient  in  our  duty.  Yes,  brethren,  were 
we  all  such  as  we  ought  to  be,  "  in  word,  in  conversa- 
tion, in  charity,  in  spirit,  in  faith,  in  purity" — we  should 


DISC.  VI.  REVEALED  TRUTH,  ETC  "^3^' 

••■  put  to  silence  the  ignorance  of  foolish  men."'  "  They, 
who  are  all  of  contrary  part,  would  be  ashamed,  hav- 
ing no  evil  thing  to  say  of  us."  Nay,  our  light  would 
so  "shine  before  men,  that  they,  seeing  our  good 
works,  would  be  constrained  to  glorify  our  Father  in 
heaven."     Amen ! 


DISCOURSE  VII. 


REVEALED  RELIGION,  THE  ONLY  SOURCE  OF  TRUi 
HAPPINESS. 


John  vi.  68—"  Lord,  to  whom  sliall  we  go "?    Thou  hast  the  words  o( 
eternal  life." 


There  is  something  in  the  gospel  that  addresses 
itself  with  prodigious  power  to  the  human  conscience. 
Multitudes,  it  is  true,  hear  it  with  profound  unconcern  : 
and  the  reason  is,  that  they  hear  it  without  reflection  : 
but  let  it  once  come  fairly  before  the  mind,  and  let  the 
mind  fasten  upon  it  in  intense  contemplation  as  a  living 
reahty,  and  it  instantly  becomes  a  subject  of  the  deep- 
est interest.  It  is  like  a  candle  to  the  inner  man  of  the 
heart,  in  the  hght  of  which  sin,  and  judgment,  and 
the  wrath  to  come,  assume  the  character  of  substantial 
and  fearful  realities.  Hence  it  were  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose that  many  would  attend,  for  a  season,  on  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel,  from  curiosity,  or  some  other 
31 


242  REVEALED  RELIGION,  ETC.        DISC.  VII, 

motive,  who,  whenever  its  truths  should  come  in  con- 
tact with  their  understandings  and  consciences,  would 
turn  from  it  in  anger  or  disgust.  An  instance  of  this 
is  recorded  in  the  chapter  which  contains  my  text — an 
instance  too  which  occurred  in  our  Lord's  personal  mi- 
nistry. Having,  on  a  certain  occasion,  brought  plainly 
to  view  some  of  the  leading  doctrines  of  the  gospel, 
maii)'^  who  had  before  professed  to  be  his  disciples, 
charged  him  with  unreasonable  severity,  and  final!)" 
renounced  their  attachment  to  him  and  his  cause.  In 
reference  to  this  apostacy,  Jesus  turned  to  the  twelve 
who  constituted  his  own  immediate  family,  and  said. 
"'  Will  ye  also  go  away  ?"  Simon  Peter  answered, 
both  for  himself  and  his  fellow  disciples,  in  language  of 
Avhich  our  text  is  a  part—"  Lord  to  whom  shall  we 
go  ?     Thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal  life." 

By  the  words  of  eternal  life  we  are  to  understand  the 
doctrine  of  salvation  ;  including  the  fact  that  salvation 
is  within  our  reach,  and  the  means  by  which  it  may  be 
obtained.  The  text  therefore  obviously  suggests  this 
truth — That  the  gospel,  and  that  alone,  secures  the 
great  end  of  religion,  viz.,  a  happy  existence  beyond 
the  present  life.  As,  however,  the  salvation  that  is 
perfected  in  heaven  is  begun  here ;  as  the  same  system 
which  professedly  discloses  the  means  of  happiness  be- 
yond the  grave,  professes  also,  in  this  life,  to  open  ways 
of  pleasantness  and  paths  of  peace,  I  shall  consider  the 
text  as  containing  the  general  proposition  that  re- 


DISC.  VII.         REVEALED  UELIGION;  ETC.  2A'A 

VEALED  RELIGION    IS    THE    ONLY    SOURCE  OP   TRUE 
HAPPINESS. 

In  illustrating  this  proposition,  it  will  be  necessary  to 
keep  constantly  in  view  the  moral  constitution  of  man. 
Every  one  is  conscious  of  possessing  certain  original 
desires,  which  are  inherent  in  his  very  nature,  and 
which  exist  independently  of  all  circumstances,  and  in 
the  gratification  of  which  consists  his  happiness.  The 
great  masters  of  mental  science,  much  as  they  have 
differed  in  respect  to  the  means  of  gratifying  these  de- 
sires, have  been  nearly  agreed  in  respect  to  their  num- 
ber ;  and  they  have  generally  reduced  them  to  a  few. 
Whatever  then  is  best  adapted  to  meet  these  original 
desires,  is,  of  course,  best  fitted  to  promote  man's  true 
happiness.  Taking  the  gospel  just  as  we  find  it,  I 
shall  endeavor  to  show  that  all  these  desires  are  suc- 
cessfully met  in  it,  and  in  nothing  else :  and  if  I 
should  succeed  in  this,  you  will  not  doubt  that  my  pro- 
position is  established.  I  hardly  need  say  that,  so  far 
as  there  may  be  occasion,  in  the  progress  of  the  discus- 
sion, to  compare  the  gospel  with  any  other  system,  it  will 
lie  with  natural  rehgion,  and  not  with  any  thing  that 
professes  to  come  in  the  form  of  a  revelation  ;  for  I  sup- 
pose it  may  fairly  be  taken  for  granted  that,  if  true  hap- 
piness is  not  to  be  found  in  the  religion  of  nature,  we 
shall  look  for  it  in  vain  in  the  doctrines  of  Mohammed, 
or  of  any  other  teacher  than  Jesus  Christ. 

Here  then,  on  the  one  hand,  we  have  man  with  his 
original  desires:  on  the  other,  the  gospel  with  its  vaviou*^ 


•^44.  'hEVEALKU  religion,  etc.        disc,  VII. 

provisions.     Let  us  see  how  the  one  is  adapted  to  the 
other. 

I.  The  first  of  man's  original  desires  which  I  shall 
notice,  and  the  first  in  the  order  of  nature,  is  the  desire 
of  continued  existence. 

That  this  is  deeply  seated  in  the  soul,  is  evident  from 
that  natural  sentiment  of  horror  which  is  awakened  by 
the  thought  of  annihilation.  Try  the  experiment,  and 
bring  home  to  your  own  bosom  the  thought  of  being 
doomed  to  an  eternal  night  of  unconsciousness,  and 
lell  me  whether  nature  does  not  stand  aghast  at  the 
suggestion  !  Does  any  one  point  to  the  suicide  to  dis- 
prove my  position  ?  I  answer,  the  suicide  is  a  monster  : 
and  from  what  he  does  no  conclusions  are  to  be  drawn, 
which  do  not  respect  himself  But  after  all,  the  most 
that  his  conduct  necessarily  proves,  is,  that  he  is  wiUing 
to  risk  a  change  in  his  existence  of  which  he  has  no 
knowledge.  Perhaps  he  is  a  universalist ;  and  in  that 
case,  instead  of  proving  himself  willing  to  be  annihi- 
lated, lie  only  shows  that  he  is  wilUng  to  exchange 
the  troubles  of  the  world  for  the  glories  of  heaven.  Or 
even  if  he  be  an  atheist,  and  thinks  to  lay  himself 
down  in  his  grave  clothes  for  an  eternal  sleep,  he 
proves,  not  that  existence  in  itself  considered  is  not  de- 
sirable to  him,  but  only  that  existence  may  be  so  bur- 
dened with  calamity  that  he  would  rather  sacrifice  the 
one  than  endure  the  other.  Does  any  one  ask  again, 
how  it  is,  if  this  desire  of  immortality  be  so  natural 
;ind  so  stronsr,  that  fhnt  article  in  the  atheist's  creed- 


1>ISC.  VII.        REVEALED  RELIGION,  ETC.  245 

that  death  is  an  eternal  sleep — has  been  eagerly  em- 
braced, and  earnestly  defended,  by  thousands,  as  if  the 
gulf  of  annihilation  were  a  fountain  of  perpetual  joy  ? 
There  is  a  ready  solution  of  this  in  the  fact  that  every 
sinner  is  compelled  to  read  out  of  the  book  of  con- 
science a  lesson  concerning  the  wrath  to  come ;  and  as 
this  involves  the  idea  of  a  future  Ufe,  it  is  not  strange 
that  those  who  are  obstinately  bent  on  vice,  should 
regard  it  a  privilege  to  be  annihilated,  and  should 
actually  strive  to  hush  the  clamours  of  guilt  in  the 
dread  hope  of  annihilation.  There  is  then  no  evidence 
that  the  infidel,  who  scoffs  at  the  doctrine  of  immor- 
tality, is,  after  all,  a  stranger  to  the  desire  of  it :  there 
is  evidence  only  that  he  had  rather  give  up  his  immor- 
tality than  to  encounter  hell.  So  then,  in  neither  of 
the  cases  which  I  have  supposed,  is  there  the  shadow  of 
proof  that  the  desire  of  continued  existence  is  not 
inherent  in  man. 

Where  then  shall  we  find  the  evidence,  if  there  be 
any,  that  this  desire  of  living  is  to  be  gratified  ?  Shall 
we  take  the  report  of  the  senses  ?  Let  the  senses 
bring  back  their  testimony  from  the  dying  bed  of  your 
iriend,  and  see  whether  it  be  any  thing  on  which  you 
dare  build  a  single  hope.  Look  ;  listen  ;  pry  as  far  as 
you  can  into  the  mysteries  of  the  death  scene,  that  if 
the  evidence  of  a  future  life  be  there,  you  may  not  over- 
look it.  Is  it  proclaimed  in  that  convulsion  in  which 
the  breath  stops,  and  all  communion  with  the  visible 
world  is  manifestly  broken  off?     Is  it  written  in  that 


246  REVEALED  RELIGION,  ETC.        DISC.  VI 1. 

eye  whose  fire  is  all  fled,  and  which  chills  your  blood 
as  you  come  wnthin  its  frightful  glare  ?  Do  you  find  it 
in  that  countenance  unvisited  by  a  beam  of  intelli- 
gence ;  in  that  frame  which  is  moved  only  as  a  clod ; 
in  any  part  of  that  scene,  in  which  all  is  dumb,  and 
inanimate,  and  ghastly,  and  making  ready  for  the  cold 
horrors  of  corruption  ?  And  if  you  find  it  not  here, 
transfer  yourself  to  the  sepulchre  after  the  door  is  shut, 
and  the  worm  has  begun  its  revel ;  and  let  your  senses 
brood  over  the  process  that  is  there  going  forward  ;  and 
tell  me  whether  the  testimony  of  the  sepulchre  does  not 
confirm  the  testimony  of  the  death  bed.  Now,  what 
you  have  witnessed  in  respect  to  an  individual,  has 
happened  in  respect  to  the  unnumbered  millions  who 
have  inhabited  this  earth ;  by  a  law  of  nature  it  must 
happen  in  respect  to  you.  The  senses  then  inform  you 
that  you  shall  die  ;  but  they  do  not,  they  cannot,  inform 
you  that  you  shall  live  again  :  for  when  have  you  ever 
heard  a  disembodied  spirit  speaking  to  you,  thus  as- 
suring you  of  its  existence  ?  Or  when  have  you  ever 
seen  the  dust  into  which  a  human  body  had  mouldered, 
lising  up  into  an  organized  and  living  form,  as  if  the 
grave  had  never  held  it  in  its  dominion?  The  senses 
then  report  unfavorably  to  the  desire  of  a  future  ex- 
istence. 

Let  the  matter  be  referred  next  to  reason,  and  see 
whether  she  has  any  thing  to  say  in  support  of  the 
doctrine  of  a  future  life.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  she 
lias  :  that  she  bears  a  testimony  on  this  subject,  whicl). 


DISC.   VII.        REVEALED  RELIGION,  ETC.  )i47 

SO  far  as  it  goes,  is  explicit ;  and  yet,  as  we  shall  pre- 
sently see,  it  very  inadequately  meets  the  desire  of  ex- 
istence with  which  man  is  constituted.  There  is  a 
principle  in  the  human  breast,  call  it  what  you  will, 
that  points  to  a  retribution.  That  this  retribution  does 
not  take  place  in  the  present  life,  common  observation 
abundantly  evinces :  hence  the  necessity  of  a  future  life, 
in  which  man  may  be  rewarded  or  punished  according- 
to  his  deserts.  This  is  an  argument  which  is  built,  not 
upon  the  philosophy  of  the  schools,  hut  upon  a  common 
principle  of  human  nature  ;  an  argument  for  the  vulgar 
as  well  as  the  learned ;  an  argument  w  hich  it  requires 
no  ingenuity  to  comprehend,  and  no  effort  to  feel.  It 
proves  indeed  nothing  more  than  that  man  shall  live 
after  he  is  dead  to  be  the  subject  of  a  retribution  ;  but 
it  proves  that  conclusively. 

To  this  original  sense — this  testimony  of  God  in  the 
moral  constitution  of  man,  it  is  no  doubt  chiefly  owing, 
that  we  are  able  to  trace  some  notion  of  a  future  life  in 
the  records  of  every  age  and  nation.  But  lest  we 
should  attribute  to  reason  more  than  she  can  fairly 
claim,  it  is  proper  that  we  should  see  how  the  question 
of  a  future  hfe  has  actually  stood,  where  she  has  been 
left  to  settle  it  by  her  own  unassisted  powers ;  and  to 
give  her  every  advantage,  we  will  refer  to  the  Augustan 
age  ; — a  period  distinguished  by  the  brightest  constella- 
tion of  genius  that  ever  poured  its  splendors  upon  the 
world.  The  rude  and  the  learned  received  aUke  the 
notice  from  within  that  tliev  were  destined  to  a  future 


'iia  REVEALED  RELIGION,  ETC.         DISC.  VII 

existence.  The  vulgar,  overlooking  the  difficult} 
which  lay  in  their  way  from  the  dissolution  of  the 
body,  eagerly  embraced  the  sentiments  of  nature,  and 
imagined  that  they  should  exist  in  another  world  pre- 
cisely such  persons  as  they  were  in  this.  The  philoso- 
phers, on  the  other  hand,  pressed  with  the  difficulty 
which  the  vulgar  had  overlooked,  from  the  death  of  the 
body,  and  sensible  that  identity  was  included  in  the 
idea  of  future  existence,  denied  that  the  body  was  pan 
of  the  man,  and  maintained  that  the  whole  man  sur- 
vived in  a  pure  intellectual  principle.  Many,  however, 
especially  those  who  speculated  most  freely  on  the  phy- 
sical reason  of  the  soul's  immortahty,  turned  skeptics : 
and  even  some  of  the  greatest  spirits  of  the  age  are 
represented  as  doubting  whether  the  corporeal  and  the 
intellectual  would  not  sink  in  a  common  wreck ;  or 
rather  whether  the  mind  was  any  thing  more  than  an 
attribute  of  the  body  which  they  knew  perished  before 
their  eyes.  You  perceive  then,  that,  leaving  out  of 
view  the  dreams  of  the  poets  in  respect  to  a  future  life, 
which  had  a  prodigious  influence  in  forming  the  opi- 
nions of  the  vulgar,  the  heathen  world  were  really  in 
an  unsettled  state  on  this  subject.  They  indeed  abused 
the  light  which  they  enjoyed ;  but  even  if  they  had 
made  the  best  of  that  light,  it  would  have  been  insuffi- 
cient to  conduct  them  to  any  satisfactory  conclusions  in 
respect  to  the  future.  There  was  a  real  difficulty 
thrown  in  their  way  by  death,  of  which  reason  in  hei 
loftiest  flights  could  not  discover  a  solution. 


iJlJsC.  VII.  REVEALED  RELIGION,  ETC.  249 

Whence  then  conies  it  to  pass  that  nature  has  hopes 
that  she  is  able  so  inadequately  to  maintain  ?  The 
answer  is  easy.  The  reUgion  of  nature  contemplated 
man  as  he  originally  came  from  his  Creator's  hands, 
Avithout  sin ;  of  course  not  subject  to  death.  But  sin 
was  introduced ;  and  death  followed  in  its  train.  Na- 
ture had  made  no  provision  for  such  a  calamity :  it 
came  in  upon  her  as  a  surprise ;  and  it  is  no  wonder 
that  she  should  have  halted  at  such  a  mighty  invasion. 
Is  it  not  then  just  what  might  have  been  expected, 
that  she  should  be  loth  to  part  with  her  original  hopes 
on  the  one  hand,  and  yet  unable  to  explain  the  diffi- 
culties with  which  she  was  pressed  on  the  other  ? 

You  perceive  now  wherein  the  religion  of  nature  was 
lame  on  the  subject  of  a  futiue  existence.  She  could 
not  get  over  the  difficulty  that  came  in  by  death ;  for 
this  obvious  reason,  that  death  belongs  to  man  in  his 
fallen,  and  not  in  his  original  state.  The  gospel  sup- 
plies this  deficiency  of  nature,  by  revealing  the  doctrine 
of  a  resurrection.  It  contains  an  assurance  that  God 
is  not  only  able  but  willing,  nay  that  he  has  actually 
pledged  himself,  to  bring  back  the  body  re-organized 
from  the  grave,  and  to  re-unite  it  to  the  spirit  by  which 
it  had  been  animated.  Of  this  doctrine  nature  had 
never  dreamed,  before  she  had  an  intunation  of  it  from 
Heaven  :  and  yet,  when  once  revealed,  she  eagerly 
embraces  it,  as  clearing  away  her  doubts,  and  confirm- 
ing her  hopes.  It  is  the  gospel  then,  and  that  only, 
that  establishes  the  true  doctrine  of  a  future  life  on  a 


'45U  llEVEALEU  RELIGION,  ETC.  DISC.  VII. 

iirni  basiri  ;  that  conveys  an  assurance  to  man  not  only 
that  his  spuit  shall  live  after  his  body  is  dead,  but  that 
his  body  shall  live  again,  to  become  the  organ  of  the 
spirit's  operations. 

But  if  natural  religion  falters  on  the  question  of  a 
mere  future  existence,  that  is,  if  she  is  unable  to  solve 
the  difficulties  which  it  presents,  she  has  still  less  to  say 
in  proof  of  man's  immortality.  You  perceive,  at  once, 
that  these  are  two  distinct  points  ;  and  that  the  argu- 
ment which  proves  the  former  does  not  necessaril}^ 
prove  the  latter  ;  for  though  there  is  something  within 
us  that  proclaims  that  we  must  live  in  a  future  state  to 
be  the  subjects  of  a  retribution,  yet  there  is  no  princi- 
ple of  reason  that  informs  us  with  certainty  that  that 
retribution  shall  be  eternal.  I  do  not  say  that  philoso- 
phy, especially  when  enlightened  by  Revelation,  may 
not  render  this  exceedingly  probable ;  but  the  mass  of 
the  world  have  nothing  to  do  with  philosophy ;  and 
are  shut  up  to  the  plain  notions  of  common  sense.  What 
then  though  we  were  to  admit  that  a  few  gifted  minds 
in  an  age  might  even  arrive  at  certainty  on  this  subject 
—yet  how  comparatively  unimportant  would  this  be, 
while  the  thousands  and  the  millions  were  groping  in 
absolute  ignorance !  But  there  is  one  consideration 
which  proves  decisively  that  all  certainty  on  this  sub- 
ject, independently  of  revelation,  is  out  of  the  question  : 
it  is  that  the  being  who  gives  life  is  alone  able  to  con- 
tinue it :  whether  it  shall  be  continued  or  not  must  de- 
pend upon  his  will :  and  his  will  it  were  impossible  to 


DISC,  VII.  REVEALED  RELIGION;  ETC.  'i5  L 

know,  unless  he  were  pleased  to  reveal  it ;  for  "  who 
by  searching  can  find  out  God  ?"  He  has  revealed  it 
in  the  gospel,  and  no  where  else  ;  so  that  it  is  here,  and 
here  only,  that  the  question  of  man's  immortality  is 
set  entirely  at  rest. 

Say  now,  has  not  the  gospel  and  that  alone  complete- 
ly met  the  desire  of  continued  existence  ?  Let  the  pa- 
gan, in  whose  breast  this  desire  is  as  active  as  in  your 
own,  sit  down  and  think  of  the  future ;  and  with  all 
the  light  that  he  can  gather  from  without  him  and 
within  him,  let  him  try  to  solve  the  problem,  whether 
the  desolations  of  the  tomb  shall  ever  be  repaired : 
whether,  at  some  future  period,  he  is  to  be  swept  out  of 
being,  or  else  to  live  forever — and  the  result  will  be 
that  he  will  he  bewildered  by  conjecture,  rather  than 
cheered  by  hope.  Let  the  same  questions  come  up  to 
your  own  mind,  and  let  the  Bible  be  spread  out  before 
you,  and  how  very  different  the  result !  Faith  looks 
through  the  darkness  that  reason  can  not  penetrate : 
she  kindles  up  a  bright  hght  in  the  inner  apartment  of 
the  sepulchre,  by  which  she  sees  her  way  into  the 
world  beyond  it :  she  beholds  "  deliverance"  written 
upon  its  doors,  the  body  given  back  to  the  desire  of 
nature,  and  the  whole  man  bearing  the  stamp  of  im- 
mortahty.  Thrice  blessed  gospel,  that  has  brought 
life  and  immortality  to  light !  Sit  down  by  the  grave. 
and  hold  communion  with  the  future,  and  say  whether 
this  is  not  a  glorious  gospel ! 


'-^52  UEVEALED  RELIGION,  ETC.  DISC.  Vll. 

2.  Another  of  the  original  desires  of  man,  which  is 
fully  met  by  the  gospel,  and  nothing  else,  is  the  desire 
of  action. 

Man  is  possessed  of  various  faculties  ;  some  of  a 
higher,  others  of  a  lower  order  ; — adapted  to  the  sphere 
which  he  is  destined  to  occupy.  These  faculties  are 
designed  to  be  employed  ;  and  there  is  no  lack  of  ob- 
jects, either  in  the  material  or  the  intellectual  world, 
fitted  to  call  them  into  exercise.  Now  there  is  in  the 
moral  constitution  of  man  a  desire  exactly  correspond- 
ing to  this  arrangement.  You  see  it  in  the  child, 
anterior  to  the  first  dawnings  of  intellect ;  and  you  see 
it  in  increasing  strength,  as  the  faculties  are  gradually 
developed.  Man  desires  to  be  active — ^Where  shall  he 
look  for  the  complete  gratification  of  this  desire  but  to 
tlie  gospel  ? 

Let  it  be  observed,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  gospel. 
and  that  only,  gives  a  right  direction  to  the  human 
faculties.  That  these  faculties  have  some  how  or 
other  acquired  a  wrong  direction — that  they  have  re- 
ceived an  impulse  which  provokes  conscience,  and  of- 
fends God,  is,  with  every  individual,  a  matter  of  personal 
experience.  I  stop  not  here  to  inquire  concerning  the 
origin  of  this  calamity  ;  but  he  who  would  dispute  the 
fact,  might  as  well  dispute  any  fact  of  which  he  had 
the  testimony  of  sense  or  consciousness.  Man  is  in- 
clined to  use  his  faculties  in  a  way  which  defeats  the 
design  for  which  they  were  given  him ;  which  not  only 
brings  dishonor  upon  God,  but   ruin  to  himself:  else 


13ISC,  VII.  REVEALED  RELIGION,  ETC  253 

how  will  you  account  for  the  endless  forms  of  iniquity 
by  which  Jehovah  has  been  insulted,  and  his  creation 
marred,  almost  from  the  beginning  to  the  present  hour  ? 
Nay,  how  else  will  you  account  for  the  fact  that  your 
own  faculties  are  not  exerted,  or  have  not  always  been, 
in  accordance  with  your  conviction  of  right ; — that  a 
review  of  your  life  brings  up  so  many  things  as  matter 
for  internal  disquietude  ? 

Let  us  inquire  now  whether  unassisted  reason  is 
adequate  to  devise  any  means,  by  which  this  common 
calamity  of  our  nature  may  be  removed,  and  the  various 
faculties  which  God  has  given  us,  be  restored  to  their 
legitimate  direction.  And  here  again,  in  order  that  wc 
may  ascertain  what  Reason  caw  do,  it  is  fair  to  inquire 
what  she  actually  has  done ;  especially  if  the  inquiry 
be  instituted  in  reference  to  those  nations  and  ages  in 
which  her  efforts  have  been  made  to  the  greatest  ad- 
vantage. Fix  upon  the  brightest  periods  of  Grecian  or 
Roman  history,  and  what  else  do  you  find  but  a  wretch- 
ed complication  of  idolatry  and  crime  ?  Admit,  if  you 
will,  that  there  were  a  few  cases  which  might  be  re- 
garded as  exceptions  from  this  remark  ; — here  and 
there  a  philosopher,  like  a  few  solitary  stars  shining  in 
a  dark  night,  who  had  some  good  moral  precepts  for 
the  regulation  of  the  life ;  yet  even  their  systems  of 
morality  were  miserably  defective,  lacking  this  essen- 
tial characteristic — that  they  reached  not  to  the  heart, 
the  fountain  of  all  moral  action ;  and  this  also,  that 
they  overlooked,  in  a  great  degree,  the  relation  which 


254  KKVEALED  RELIGION.  ETC.  BISC.  VI J. 

man  sustains  to  his  Maker  and  Lawgiver.  Neverthe- 
less, the  systems  of  these  philosophers  were,  for  the 
most  part,  far  better  than  their  characters  ;  and  thus, 
whatever  else  was  true  of  their  systems,  they  were 
proved  to  be  destitute  of  power.  Indeed,  we  may 
safely  challenge  the  vi'hole  heathen  world  to  produce 
an  instance  (unless  there  be  some  solitary  excep- 
tions in  which  God  mysteriously  communicates  the 
hght  of  truth  to  the  soul)  of  an  individual  rendering  a 
spuitual  worship  to  the  true  God,  or  discharging  any 
of  the  peculiar  duties  of  a  rational  piety.  And  if  the 
heathen — even  the  wisest  of  them  —  have  utterly 
failed  in  their  attempts  to  give  a  right  direction  to  the 
human  faculties,  not  more  successful  have  they  been 
who  have  made  the  same  attempt  in  Christian  countries, 
professing  to  exclude  all  other  light  than  the  hght  of 
Reason  ;  for  not  only  have  they  made  war  in  their  spe- 
culations on  the  essential  principles  of  moralit  y?  but  the}" 
have  outraged  these  principles  in  their  practice,  and 
have  actually  given  the  worst  specimens  of  the  per- 
version of  the  human  faculties  which  the  world  has 
ever  seen.  We  come  then,  in  the  light  of  facts,  fairly 
to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  not  within  the  province  of 
Reason,  to  give  to  the  powers  with  which  we  are  en- 
dowed such  a  direction,  as  shall  accomplish  the  purpose 
for  which  they  v/erc  designed. 

Turn  now  to  the  gospel,  and  see  how  happily  this 
deficiency  is  supplied.  And  here  too,  I  am  willing  thai 
the  matter  sliould  be  decided  by  a  reference  to  fncl. 


U18C.  VII.         REVEALED  RELIGION,  ETC.  255 

Just  in  proportion  as  the  gospel  has  prevailed  in  its 
purity  m  any  country,  you  will  find  the  standard  of 
morality  has  been  elevated ;  and  just  in  proportion  as 
it  has  exerted  its  influence  on  individual  character, 
there  has  been  exhibited  whatsoever  is  pure,  and  praise- 
worthy, and  of  good  report.  And  the  Christian  can  tes- 
tify, from  his  own  experience,  that  it  is  the  gospel  alone, 
by  means  of  which  his  faculties  become  enlisted  in  the 
service  of  God ;  and  that  the  degree  of  conformity  which 
he  attains  to  the  divine  image,  is  measured  by  the  de- 
gree of  influence  which  the  gospel  exerts  over  him. 
And  as  the  fact  is  perfectly  obvious,  so  it  is  easy,  by  a 
reference  to  the  constitution  of  the  gospel,  to  account 
for  it ;  for  while  the  moral  influence  of  the  tiaiths  which 
it  reveals  tends  directly  to  such  a  result,  there  is  super- 
added to  this,  a  special  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  by 
which  this  result  is  finally  obtained.  So  then,  the  gos- 
pel does  that  which  Reason  could  not  do :  it  finds  the 
soul  in  bondage  to  sin,  and  delivers  it ;  it  gives  a  new 
and  difierent  impulse  to  the  powers  of  human  action, 
which  accords  with  the  dictates  of  conscience,  and 
draws  down  the  blessing  of  God. 

But  the  gospel  meets  the  desire  of  action,  not  only 
by  directing  the  faculties  aright,  but  by  openmg  a  no 
ble  field  for  their  exercise.  It  does  this  especially  by 
shedding  hght  upon  the  relations  which  man  sustains 
to  his  fellow-man  and  to  his  God.  To  say  nothing  of 
the  fact  that  where  the  gospel  is  not  known,  the  social 
duties,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  present  Ufe.  are  but  little 


256  UEVEALED  RELIGION,  ETC.        DISC.  VI  [. 

understood,  and  still  less  performed,  it  is  not  to  be  for- 
gotten that  the  fact  that  man  is  a  sinner,  destined  to  an 
immortal  existence,  invests  even  the  social  relations 
with  their  deepest  interest ;  and  this  fact,  in  connexion 
with  these  relations,  is  either  wretchedly  perverted,  or 
entirely  overlooked.  Nor  is  the  case  better  in  respect  to 
the  relations  which  man  sustains  to  liis  Maker ; — for  if 
the  Pagan  world  are  ignorant,  and  have  always  been 
ignorant,  of  the  true  God,  it  were  absurd  to  suppose 
that  they  should  have  any  just  idea  of  the  relations 
they  bear,  or  the  duties  they  owe,  to  him ;  and  hence 
we  find  that  the  service  they  have  rendered  to  their 
deities  has  been  blind,  debasing,  cruel,  according  to  the 
particular  character  they  have  attributed  to  them.  But 
mark  the  change  which  the  gospel  has  wrought  on  this 
subject.  It  has  faithfully  marked  out  the  duties  which 
men  owe  to  each  other  in  their  social  relations,  considered 
with  reference  to  the  life  that  now  is ;  and  it  has  gone 
farther,  and  contemplated  the  same  relations  in  respect 
to  the  life  that  is  to  come  ;  regarding  man  as  destined  to 
an  eternal  retribution  of  happiness  or  wo.  And  more 
than  this,  it  has  taught  man  how  he  stands  related  to 
his  Maker ;  and  what  service  his  Maker  requires  ol 
him ;  and  how  he  may  reach  the  highest  dignity  of 
which  his  nature  is  susceptible.  And  in  doing  this,  is  it 
not  manifest  that  the  gospel  has  mightily  enlarged  the 
field  of  human  action  J  You  have  to  do  good  to  your 
fellow  creatures,  not  only  as  beings  who  are  to  live  here 
lor  a  little  season  and  then  die,  but  as  beings  who  are  to 


DISC.  VII.  UEVEALED  KELlGIUN,  ETC  257 

live  forever,  and  whose  eternal  condition  is  to  depend  on 
their  present  character.  With  your  lot  cast  in  a  world 
of  such  beings  as  these,  how  much  is  there  to  be  done, 
in  the  various  relations  you  sustain,  for  the  immortal 
spirit ;  how  much  to  deliver  it  from  the  woes  to  which 
it  is  exposed,  and  to  elevate  its  destiny  to  that  of  the 
angels  !  And  then  again,  in  the  pure  and  spiritual  ser- 
vice which  you  owe  immediately  to  God,  how  much 
demand  is  there  for  action — action  of  the  holiest  and 
noblest  kind — action  which  transforms,  while  it  exalts, 
the  character,  and  brings  the  soul  into  intimate  commu- 
nion with  God,  and  causes  it  even  liere  well  nigh  to 
breathe  the  atmosphere  of  the  thiid  Heavens  !  And 
the  grave,  which  seems  to  the  eye  of  sense  to  constitute 
the  farther  boundary  of  the  field  in  which  our  faculties 
can  be  employed,  really  opens  a  new  field  in  which 
they  are  destined  to  a  boundless  and  glorious  opera- 
tion. In  that  world  of  light  which  faith  discovers  be- 
yond the  present,  I  acknowledge  that  we  know  but  in 
part  in  what  way  the  glorified  inhabitants  shall  be  em- 
ployed ;  but  we  have  the  testimony  of  the  Bible  that 
they  will  find  no  lack  of  employment :  in  celebrating 
the  praises  of  Heaven,  in  casting  theii-  crowns  at  the 
Redeemer's  feet,  in  executing  the  various  commissions 
with  which  Jehovah  may  charge  them,  they  will  be 
completely,  delightfully,  perpetually,  occupied.  "  There- 
fore,"— says  the  apostle  John,  to  whom  a  revelation  of 
the  employments  of  the  redeemed  had  been  made^ — 
3n 


'■cob  KKVKALEU  KKJ.IUlUN,   ETC.         DISC.VU. 

•  theiet'oic  are  they  before  the  throne  of  God,  and  serve 
him  day  and  night  in  his  temple." 

Moreover,  the  gospel  meets  the  desire  of  action  iu 
man,  inastnuch  as  the  employments  to  lohich  it 
points  are  fitted^  in  a  high  degree,  to  improve  his 
faculties,  and  thus  render  him>  capable  of  tnorc 
vigorous  and  successful  action.  It  is  a  law  of  our 
nature  that  while  the  employments  to  which  an  in- 
dividual voluntarily  gives  himself,  strongly  indicate 
his  character,  so  his  character  must  receive  its  com- 
plexion in  a  great  degree  from  the  nature  of  his  em- 
ployments. Now  the  employments  which  the  gospel 
marks  out,  are  of  the  noblest  kind  :  they  are  fitted  not 
only  to  exalt  and  purify  the  aii'ections,  but  to  quicken 
and  brighten  every  faculty :  and  hence,  not  only  the 
moral  but  the  intellectual  character — the  whole  man 
will,  no  doubt,  under  this  influence,  be  forever  ad- 
vancing from  glory  to  glory.  Is  it  not  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  the  period  will  arrive,  when  that  mind. 
Jiow  just  beginning  to  develope  its  powers,  will,  by 
being  trained  in  the  employments  to  which  it  is  des- 
tined, have  gathered  the  might  of  an  angel ; — that  it 
will  act  with  an  energy  which  will  make  its  most 
vigorous  efforts  in  the  present  life  seem  like  the  imbe- 
cile operations  of  the  mind  of  an  infant  ? 

If  it  be  so  then,  that  the  gospel  alone  gives  a  righi 
direction  to  the  human  faculties ; — if  it  opens  the  no- 
blest field  for  their  exercise  ; — and  if  the  employment- 


DISC.  VII.  REVEALED  RELKilON,  ETC.  ;i.5V» 

to  which  it  points  are  fitted  to  invigorate  and  improve 
them  forever ;  there  is  surely  no  room  for  doubt  that 
the  gospel,  and  that  only,  successfully  meets  the  desire 
of  action. 

3.  Let  us  proceed  to  another  of  the  original  desues 
of  man,  viz.,  the  desire  of  knowledge,  and  see  how 
far  the  gospel  has  made  provision  for  this. 

That  this  is  an  original  desire,  no  one  can  doubt, 
who  watches  the  operations  of  his  own  mind,  or  ob- 
serves those  of  others.  The  child  discovers  it  in  its 
earliest  exercise  of  the  powers  of  speech,  by  its  almost 
numberless  inquiries,  many  of  which  would  baffle  the 
highest  human  intellect.  And  this  desire  grows  with 
the  growth,  and  strengthens  with  the  strength.  And 
as  you  see  its  operation  in  others,  so  also  you  feel  it  in 
your  own  bosom  ;  often  exciting  to  earnest  and  perse- 
vering efforts.  By  what  means  can  this  desire  be  most 
successfully  gratified  ? 

I  am  not  disposed  to  question  that  man  may  advance 
far  in  many  departments  of  knowledge,  with  no  other 
light  than  the  light  of  nature.  He  may  analyze  the 
very  elements  of  the  material  world,  and  ascertain  the 
Jaws  to  which  they  are  subject ;  he  may  number  the 
flowers  of  the  field,  and  the  beasts  of  the  earth ;  he 
jTiay  penetrate  the  unfathomable  ocean,  and  mount  up 
among  the  stars,  and  call  them  l)y  their  names,  and 
even  guide  the  lightning  ;  he  may  understand  well  the 
organization  of  his  own  frame,  and  may  have  skill  to 


260  RKVEALED  HELTGION,  I2TC'.  DISC.  VII. 

dislodge  disease  in  its  more  inveterate  forms  ;  he  may 
be  Himiliar  with  the  operations  of  mind,  and  may  be 
able  to  arrange  its  various  powers,  and  show  the  reci- 
procal influence  of  the  understanding,  the  will,  and  the 
affections,  upon  each  other.  And  he  may  go  farther 
still,  and  may  know  something  of  God  ;  he  may  trace 
the  evidences  of  his  power,  wisdom,  and  goodness,  in  the 
sun,  moon,  and  stars ;  in  the  world  around  him,  and 
in  the  world  within  him  ;  and  as  I  have  already  inti- 
mated, he  may  know  something,  or  I  should  rather  sa)^ 
conjecture  something,  concerning  immortahty  and  re- 
tribution. But  in  this  latter  department  of  knowledge, 
I  mean  that  which  respects  the  character  of  God,  and 
man's  eternal  relations,  human  Reason  is  at  best  but  an 
inadequate  instructer.  And  he  who  is  left  solely  to  her 
1  eaching,  will,  as  all  experience  proves,  be  left  on  some 
of  the  most  important  of  all  subjects,  to  ignorance, 
doubt,  or  error. 

But  if  Reason  does  not  meet,  to  the  full  extent,  man's 
desire  of  knowledge,  let  us  inquire  whether  this  defi- 
ciency also  be  not  supplied  by  the  gospel. 

Of  the  knowledge  to  be  derived  from  the  Bible,  one 
of  the  first  attributes  is,  that  it  is,  in  the  highest  degree. 
practical.  There  are  various  kinds  of  knowledge 
which  can  be  turned  to  no  account  beyond  the  gratiti- 
cation  of  curiosity :  the  philosopher  may  amuse  himself 
for  instance,  by  ascertaining,  with  microscopic  eye,  the 
organic  structure  of  an  insect ;  but  it  would  be  difficult 


DISC.  Vir.  REVEALED  RELIGION,  ETC.  261 

for  him  to  bring-  the  result  of  his  inquisitive  labor  to 
bear  upon  the  more  important  objects  of  hfe.  Not  so 
with  the  knowledge  which  the  gospel  furnishes :  every 
truth  which  it  brings  to  hght  or  confirms,  is  capable  of 
being  reduced  to  practice  ;  it  is  adapted  to  influence  the 
affections,  and  through  them  to  reach  the  hfe.  More- 
over, its  truths  are  all  interwoven  with  the  best  interests 
of  man :  they  relate  to  God  as  his  Creator,  Redeemer, 
and  Judge ;  and  to  himself  in  all  the  relations  which 
he  bears  to  this  world  and  to  another.  In  short,  the 
Bible  contains  every  thing  that  it  is  necessary  he  should 
know,  that  he  may  attain  the  end  of  his  existence, 
both  as  it  respects  the  life  that  now  is,  and  that  which 
is  to  come. 

Let  it  be  observed,  in  the  next  place,  that  the  know- 
ledge which  the  gospel  communicates,  is  as  sublime  as 
it  is  practical.  The  subjects  to  which  this  knowledge 
relates,  beyond  any  other  which  the  mind  ever  con- 
ceived, bear  the  stamp  of  moral  grandeur.  There  is 
the  character  of  God,  who  is  without  beginning  of  days 
or  end  of  years  ;  arrayed  in  the  majesty  of  infinite  per- 
fection ;  ruling  in  all  worlds,  and  controlling  all  events  ; 
sustaining  at  once  the  mote  that  glitters  in  the  sunbeam, 
and  the  orb  of  glory  from  which  sunbeams  emanate. 
There  is  the  creation  of  the  world  ;  the  formation  of  the 
heavens,  and  the  earth,  and  the  ocean ;  the  rising  up 
out  of  nothing  of  the  ten  thousand  forms  of  beauty  and 
grandeur,  which  we  behold  around  us.     There  is  the 


:i62  REVEALED  RELIGION.  ETC.  HISC.  VII. 

soul  oC  man,  destined  to  an  eternal  existence,  and  an 
eternal  retribution.  There  is  the  law  of  God,  a  tran- 
script of  the  moral  perfections  of  the  Highest ;  reaching 
all  moral  beings  through  every  period  of  their  existence. 
There  is  the  mediatorial  dispensation,  which  originated 
in  the  counsels  of  infinite  wisdom  ;  which  is  founded 
in  the  expiatory  death  of  the  Son  of  God ;  whose  in- 
fluence extends  probably  to  every  world,  and  whose 
results  are  to  be  known  in  the  final  consummation  of 
all  things.  These  are  some  of  the  subjects  on  which 
the  Bible  gives  us  information  ;  and  the  truths  which 
it  reveals  respecting  them,  are  not  less  sublime  than  the 
subjects  themselves ;  and  the  mamier  in  which  the 
revelation  is  made,  partakes  of  the  same  unparalleled 
sublimity.  Say  then  whether  the  knowledge  to  be 
derived  from  the  gospel,  does  not,  in  this  respect,  far 
outrun  every  other  species  of  knowledge  ?  Let  Reason 
do  her  utmost,  and  her  discoveries,  compared  with  those 
which  the  Bible  makes,  are  tame  and  grovelling. 

Let  not  the  infidel  here  arraign  Christianity  on  the 
charge  of  being  a  religion  of  mysteries  ; — of  requiring  a 
blind  faith  in  doctrines  which  she  does  not  condescend 
to  explain.  It  is  a  slander  upon  the  gospel  to  say  that 
it  requires  our  belief  in  any  thing  for  which  it  does  not. 
give  us  the  fullest  evidence.  It  does  indeed  reveal 
many  facts  which  may  suggest  inquiries  which  it  meets 
only  in  silence  ;  nevertheless,  so  far  as  it  goes,  it  is 
explicit.     For  instance,  the  fact  (hat  Jesus  Christ  died 


DISC.  VII.  HEVEALEU  RELIC.iuN,  ETC.  263 

as  a  propitiatoiy  sacrifice,  is  perfectly  intelligible ;  and 
it  is  entitled  to  full  belief,  because  it  comes  to  us  on  the 
testimony  of  God  :  but  if  we  undertake  to  ascertain  the 
entire  influence  of  this  measure  on  the  divine  govern- 
ment, or  how  the  Son  of  God  assumed  human  nature 
that  he  might  become  a  sufferer,  we  can  gather  no  light 
from  the  gospel  to  assist  in  the  prosecution  of  such  in- 
quuies.  And  so  it  is  of  many  other  doctrines  : — of  the 
fact  we  are  abundantly  certified :  of  the  manner,  cu- 
cumstances,  reasons  of  the  fact,  we  are  left  in  entire 
ignorance. 

But  if  infidelity  will  not  yield  this  charge  against 
the  gospel,  let  her  pause  and  inquire  whether  the 
ground  which  she  herself  occupies  is  not  giving  way 
beneath  her ; — whether  Christianity  may  not  stand  up 
and  confront  her  with  her  own  accusation.  Reason 
teaches  that  there  is  a  God,  and  that  he  exists  every 
where ;  but  ask  Reason  how  the  Infinite  Spirit  per- 
vades all  space,  and  she  is  as  dumb  as  the  gospel  is  to 
the  question,  how  two  distinct  natures  are  united  in  the 
person  of  the  Son  of  God.  Reason  has  ascertained  the 
principle  of  gravitation  in  the  material  world  ;  that  is, 
she  has  ascertained  that  such  a  principle  exists ;  but 
advance  a  step  further,  and  ask  for  an  analysis  of  this 
wonderful  principle, — a  physical  cause  of  this  universal 
attraction, — and  she  has  literally  nothing  to  say.  The 
truth  is  that,  by  the  light  of  nature,  God  has  brought 
certaui  facts  within  our  reach,  which  he  has  not  conde- 


264  REVEALED  RELlGIONj  ETC.  DISC.  Vlf. 

scended  to  explain  ;  and,  by  the  light  of  Revelation,  he 
has  brought  certain  other  facts  within  our  reach,  of  the 
reasons  of  which  he  has  left  us  in  llie  same  absolute 
ignorance.  So  that  nature  has  her  mysteries  as  well 
as  Revelation  ;  and  if  you  reject  either,  you  must  re- 
ject both,  on  the  same  ground.  There  is  reason  to 
believe  that  the  gosjDcl  has  revealed  as  much,  as  man, 
with  his  present  limited  capacities,  would  be  able  to 
understand  ;  and  he  who  is  disposed  to  complain  of  the 
deficiences  of  Revelation,  had  better  set  himself  to 
answer  the  question,  why  he  was  not  created  an  angel 
rather  than  a  man. 

It  is  another  attribute  of  the  knowledge  which  the 
gospel  imparts  that  it  is  forever  prog-ressive.  Let  an 
individual  make  the  Bible  his  study  through  life,  and 
you  can  scarcely  calculate  the  amount  of  knowledge 
which  he  will  gain.  The  Bible  differs  from  ever}' 
other  book  in  this — that  its  treasures  are  inexhaustible 
The  more  you  study  it,  the  richer  the  reward  whicli 
crowns  your  efforts ;  every  step  you  advance  conducts 
you  into  a  region  of  brighter  and  still  brighter  glory. 
Nor  is  it  an  objection  to  this  statement,  that  he  who 
sets  himself  down  to  the  Bible,  with  a  spirit  of  skep- 
ticism, or  a  spirit  of  indolence,  does  not  become  a  pro- 
ficient in  divine  knowledge,  or  even  denies  the  truths 
which^  it  reveals,  and  seals  this  fountain  of  heavenly 
light  against  himself;  for  though  the  treasures  of 
knowledge  are  there,  such  is  the  ordinance  of  God  that 


REVKALKD  RKLIUION,  ETC 


265 


only  the  diligent  and  the  docile  have  access  to  them. 
They  advance — I  appeal  to  the  experience  of  the  hum- 
ble and  faithful  of  every  age— they  advance  in  the 
knowledge  of  all  that  is  great,  and  noble,  and  worthy  oi 
their  immortality,  from  glory  to  glory. 

But  he  who  walks  in  the  light  of  the  gospel  here,  is 
destined  to  walk  in  the  brighter  light  of  Heaven  here- 
after. In  that  world,  for  whose  communion  and  joys 
the  gospel  will  have  served  to  prepare  him,  his  ad- 
vantages for  acquiring  knowledge  w^ill  be  greatly 
increased.  The  intellect,  no  longer  clogged  by  a  tene- 
ment of  clay,  or  misled  in  its  investigations  by  the 
workings  of  corruption,  will  have  mounted  up  towards 
the  dignity  and  energy  of  a  seraph.  What  was  here 
attended  with  doubt,  will  there  be  attended  by  cer- 
tainty: what  were  here  objects  of  faith,  will  there 
be  objects  of  vision.  The  great  subjects  of  know- 
ledge will  indeed,  in  a  general  sense,  be  the  same: 
the  mediation  of  the  Son  of  God,  in  its  various  con- 
nexions and  influences,  will  occupy  the  mind  forever ; 
but  the  knowledge  of  these  subjects  will  be  immensely 
extended ;  and  will  become  more  and  more  so  through 
eternal  ages.  Think  of  a  mind  whose  powers  are  for- 
ever brightening,  destined  to  pass  an  eternity  in  the  full 
Ijlaze  of  Jehovah's  glory,  and  estimate,  if  you  can,  the 
amount  of  knowledge,  which,  with  such  advantages,  it 
must  ultimately  acquire ! 

:i'l 


^♦)6  liEVEALEl»  IIKLIGIUN,   KTC.         D1«C.    Vll, 

I  ask  now,  iny  friends,  what  more  could  have  been 
(lojie  to  gratify  the  desire  of  knowledge,  than  has  been 
(lone  in  the  gospel?  Must  not  human  Reason  here 
own  her  deficiency ;  and  may  not  the  gospel  reason- 
ably claim  to  have  supplied  it  to  the  utmost '?  If  th(i 
knowledge  which  it  communicates  here  be  the  most 
practical,  the  most  sublime,  in  every  respect  the  most 
important,  to  us ;  and  if  it  offers  itself  as  a  guide 
(o  bring  us  to  a  world,  where  there  will  be  no  darkness 
at  all,  and  where  the  light  will  shine,  not  only  with 
eternal,  but  ever  increasing  brightness,  I  ask  again,  has 
it  not  done  all  in  this  respect  that  Ave  could  ask,  or 
oven  desire? 

4.  Another  of  the  original  desires  of  man  for  which 
the  gospel,  and  that  alone,  effectually  provides,  is  the 
desire  of  the  apjyrobatioii  ajid  esteem  of  other 
beings.  You  see  tlie  operation  of  this  desire  too  in 
the  earliest  stages  of  childhood  ; — in  the  unuttered  joy 
of  the  infant,  when  its  mother  smiles  upon  it ;  and  in 
its  deep  susceptibility  to  every  look  of  displeasure.  It  is 
active  also  in  every  period  of  life,  and  in  every  indi- 
vidual ;  or  if  there  be  any  cases  to  be  excepted,  they 
are  those  in  which  vice  has  turned  men  into  monsters, 
and  invaded  even  their  original  constitution. 

I  assume  it  here  as  a  truth,  that  men  are  constituted 
with  an  original  sense  of  right  and  wrong ;  the  percep- 
tion of  each  being  accompanied  by  a  corresponding 
feeling  of  approbation  or  disappro)»ation.     Men  may 


DISC.  VII.  KEVKALEl)  RKLItilOX,  ETC  'iiu 

abandon  themselves  entirely  to  vicious  habits  :  but  the}' 
cannot  approve  of  their  own  conduct  in  doing  so,  or 
respect  themselves,  so  long  as  they  continue  it.  And 
it  is  equally  beyond  their  power  to  regard  with  appro- 
bation a  similar  course  in  others,  or  to  esteem  the  cha- 
racters of  those  by  whom  it  is  exhibited.  However  de- 
praved the  feelings  of  men  may  be,  their  natural  con- 
victions are  in  favor  of  a  virtuous  life ;  and  he  who 
adopts  any  other  course,  so  long  as  the  moral  constitu- 
(ion  of  man  remains  as  it  now  is,  can  never  expect  to 
obtain  the  substantial  regards  of  his  fellow  men. 

Now  I  do  not  say  that  man,  by  the  light  of  nature, 
may  not  ascertain  many  of  the  duties  that  belong  to  his 
social  relations  ;  and  certainly  all  that  Reason  has  to  say 
on  this  subject  is  in  favor  of  a  life  of  virtue.  Never- 
theless, I  dare  appeal  to  the  records  of  Paganism,  from 
the  beginning,  for  evidence  that,  if  Reason  has  disco- 
vered to  man,  in  some  degree,  his  duties,  she  has  not 
been  able  effectually  to  enforce  them.  Wherever  the 
gospel  has  not  existed,  malice,  envy,  revenge,  every 
evil  passion,  has  held  the  soul  in  dominion,  in  spite  of 
all  that  Reason  could  do  to  redeem  it.  But  the  gospel, 
Just  in  proportion  as  it  has  prevailed,  has  brought  into 
oxercise  a  spirit  of  forgiveness  towards  enemies,  and 
a  spirit  of  benevolence  towards  all  men  ;  in  a  word,  it 
has  changed  man  from  an  enemy  into  a  brother  to  liis 
fellow  man ;  and  in  so  doing  has  given  hun  a  charac- 
ter which  commends  him  to  universal  esteem.     Not 


268  REVEALED  RELIGION.  ETC.  DISC.  VII. 

those  only  who  hve  Avithin  his  sphere  of  benevolent 
action — the  wretched  and  the  friendless,  who  are  re- 
lieved by  his  bounty,  or  others  who  may  be  imme- 
diately blessed  by  his  influence — but  all  (o  whom  his 
character  is  known,  will  give  him  the  tribute  of  their 
favorable  regard.  Even  the  wicked,  much  as  they 
may  be  reproved  by  the  lustre  of  his  virtues,  will  never- 
theless, at  least  secretly,  respect  and  honor  him  ;  and  the 
good  will  regard  him  with  complacency  and  delight. 
If  such  a  character  is  formed  by  the  gospel,  and  that 
only,  is  it  not  manifest  that  the  gospel  alone  meets  the 
desire  of  the  approbation  and  esteem  of  other  beings. 
at  least  so  far  as  relates  to  our  fellow  men  ? 

I  admit  that  there  are  quahties  belonging  to  human 
nature,  upon  which  men  may  bestow  a  kind  of  admi- 
ration :  there  are  characters  formed  by  other  influences 
than  those  of  the  gospel,  which  emblazon  the  page  oi" 
history,  and  have  the  privilege  of  a  sort  of  earthly  inv 
mortality.  There  is,  for  instance,  the  man  of  miUtary 
renown,  whose  business  is  conquest ;  who  breathes 
most  freely  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  values  his  laurels 
the  more  for  having  been  drenched  in  blood.  Take,  if 
you  will,  the  case  of  the  man  whose  very  name  was 
lately  a  terror  among  the  nations ;  who  would  never 
have  been  contented  till  he  had  drank  the  blood  of 
every  kindred,  and  nation,  and  people,  under  heaven : 
the  memory  of  that  man  will  live  till  the  heavens  and 
the  earth  shall  pass  away  :  and  some  in  every  age  will 


wise.  VII.  RKVKALED  RELIGIOX,  ETC  "269 

dwell  with  enthusiasm  on  his  fearfully  matchless  ex- 
ploits ;  and  Avill  see,  or  think  they  see,  a  glory  hanging 
around  his  name.  But  compare  his  history  with  that 
of  another  man,  and  one  of  his  contemporaries ; — a 
man  scarcely  less  known  than  himself,  but  known, 
not  for  deeds  of  cruelty,  but  deeds  of  mercy  ; — a  man 
whose  record  is  not  in  the  annals  of  military  glory,  but 
in  the  annals  of  dungeons  and  lazarettoes  ; — a  man,  in 
^^liort,  in  whose  character  the  benevolence  of  the  gospel 
was  a  hving,  breathing,  speaking  reality  : — and  tell  me 
Avhich  of  the  two  you  really  believe  has  most  effectually 
gained  the  favorable  regards  of  mankind.  I  envy  not 
the  man  who  would  dare  soberly  to  say  that  he  would 
rather  leave  behind  him  the  character  of  Buonaparte 
than  of  Howard  ;  that  he  would  rather  live  in  the  re- 
membrance of  posterity  as  the  conqueror,  than  the  phi- 
lanthropist. 

But  this  desire  in  man,  of  w^hich  I  am  speaking,  has 
respect  to  the  favorable  regard,  not  only  of  his  fellow 
men,  but  of  other  beings,  especially  of  God  ;  for  such 
are  the  relations  which  man  sustains  to  God,  that, 
without  his  favor,  that  of  all  other  beings  would  ulti- 
mately be  of  no  advantage  to  him. 

Here  let  me  recur  to  a  thought  to  which  I  have 
already  had  occasion  to  direct  your  attention — that 
there  is  in  every  human  bosom  a  sense  of  guilt :  man 
is  conscious  of  having  offended  his  Maker ;  and  in  pro- 
portion as  his  conscience  liecomes  enlightened,  he  dreads 


itO  llEVEALED  RELIGION.  ETC.  DISC.  VII. 

the  result.  The  question  then  in  which  he  is  more 
deeply  interested  than  any  other,  is,  whether  it  he  pos- 
sible that  forgiveness  should  be  extended  to  him  ;  and 
if  so,  on  what  conditions  ?  Admit,  if  you  will,  that  our 
natural  notions  of  God's  goodness  could  inspire  some 
faint  hope  of  pardon,  yet,  certainly  it  could  give  us  no 
positive  assurance  of  it ;  for  man  has  incurred  the  pe- 
nalty of  God's  law ;  and  for  aught  that  Reason  can 
prove  to  the  contrary,  the  penalty  must  take  effect,  oi" 
the  honor  of  the  law,  and  of  course  the  honor  of  the 
lawgiver,  must  be  trampled  in  the  dust.  The  gospel, 
and  that  alone,  proclaims  the  doctrine  of  forgiveness  : 
it  reveals  a  plan  by  which  the  exercise  of  mercy  is  ren- 
dered consistent  with  the  rights  of  justice  ; — a  plan  by 
Avhich  the  sinner  is  forgiven  upon  repentance  and  faith 
in  the  Saviour ;  and  not  only  forgiven,  but  made  the 
heir  of  innumerable  positive  blessings.  For  "  God  so 
loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son, 
that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  might  not  perish,  but 
have  everlasting  Ufe."  And  again,  "  God  was  in 
Christ  reconcihng  the  world  unto  himself,  not  imputing 
their  trespasses  unto  them."  The  fact  then  that  man 
can  be  received  into  the  favor  of  God,  and  the  condi- 
tions on  which  he  may  be  thus  received,  are  disclosed 
in  the  gospel,  and  no  where  else. 

But  the  gospel  meets  this  desire  of  man,  considered 
in  reference  to  God,  in  another  way  :  it  imparts  to  him 
((  character  which  renders  him,  an  object  of  divijv 


UlSC.    Vil.  HEVKALKU  UKUUlUiN,  ETC.  271 

voijvplacency.  God  cannot  but  approve  his  own  moral 
image  wherever  it  exists  :  this  image,  ellliced  from  the 
character  of  man  b}^  the  apostacy,  it  is  the  tendency  of 
the  gospel  to  restore; — an  efiect  which  the  highest 
efibrts  of  human  Reason  have  lieen  inadequate  to  pro- 
duce. Under  the  influence  of  the  word  and  Spirit  of 
God,  the  heart  gradually  yields  up  its  rebelhon,  and  the 
various  passions  and  aflections  of  the  soid  are  restored 
to  theii-  original  harmony.  And  He  who  is  the  source 
of  all  moral  purity,  looks  down  upon  this  spiritual  reno- 
vation, the  work  of  his  own  almighty  grace,  and  pro- 
nounces it  "very  good."  And  He  communicates 
t  okens  of  his  favor  ;  in  that  peace  which  passeth  un- 
derstanding :  in  that  hope  which  is  an  anchor  to  the 
soul ;  in  that  joy  which  is  unspeakable  and  full  of 
glory.  The  infidel,  I  know,  will  call  this  enthusiasm  : 
but  the  Christian  (and  he  alone,  having  had  expe- 
rience, is  competent  to  judge)  will  testify  that  it  is  a 
most  consoling  and  precious  reaUty. 

Do  we  not  then  fairly  arrive  at  the  conclusion  that 
the  gospel,  and  that  alone,  meets  man's  inherent  de- 
sire of  the  approbation  and  esteem  of  other  beings? 
Whether  we  would  secure  the  favorable  regards  of  our 
fellow  men  or  of  God,  whither  shall  we  go  for  direction 
but  to  the  Bible  ? 

5.  I  observe,  again,  that  another  of  the  original  de- 
sires of  man,  for  which  the  gospel  and  that  only  makes 
adequate  provision,  is  the  desire  of  society.     You  see 


'.ll'Z  liKVEALED  KELIGIOiV,  ETC.  DISC.  ViJ. 

the  operation  of  this,  as  of  the  desires  that  have 
aheady  been  noticed,  in  the  very  budding  of  the  hu- 
man faculties.  The  child,  long  before  it  has  left  the 
arms  of  its  mother,  discovers  its  aversion  to  solitude, 
and  its  relish  for  society ;  and  if  the  social  principle 
reaches  its  maturity  at  an  earher  period  than  some 
others,  it  always  continues  active,  thus  proving  itself 
to  be  an  original  principle  of  human  nature. 

There  is  an  impression,  I  well  know,  abroad  in  the 
world,  to  a  considerable  extent,  that  Christianity  is  un- 
I'riendly  to  social  enjoyment ; — that  the  life  which  she 
recommends  and  enjoins  is  a  life  of  seclusion  from  the 
world.  That  individuals  professing  Christianity  have 
adopted  such  a  course  of  life  it  were  in  vain  to  deny  : 
that  in  some  ages,  a  large  part  of  the  professed  disciples 
of  Christ  have  shut  themselves  up  in  cells  and  monas- 
teries, is  a  fact  well  authenticated  in  the  history  of  the 
church :  nevertheless,  it  was  not  the  genuine  gospel, 
but  a  perversion  of  it,  which,  in  every  instance,  led  to 
this  result.  Christianity,  in  its  very  nature,  is  social :  it 
contemplates  man  indeed  in  the  closet,  but  it  contem- 
plates him  also  in  the  family,  in  the  church,  and  in  the 
world ;  and  he  who  shuts  himself  out  from  society  un- 
der the  pretence  of  escaping  the  temptations  of  the 
world,  and  of  serving  God  more  faithfully  in  his 
closet,  has  wretchedly  perverted  the  gospel,  and  made 
shipwreck  of  his  Christian  obligations. 


DISC.  Vll.        REVEALED  HELICJION,  ETC.  ^73 

Observe  then,  in  the  first  place,  tliat  a  large  part  of 
the  duties  uiJiich  the  gospel  ejtjoins  are  social  duties  ; 
— duties  which  we  owe  to  those  who  arc  united  with 
us  in  the  various  relations  of  hfe.  It  is  not  enough 
that  we  enter  our  closets  and  pray  for  our  fellow  men : 
but  we  are  required  to  go  out  into  the  world,  and  do 
them  good ;  to  discharge  duties  towards  them  which 
imply  that  we  are  meeting  them  in  our  daily  walks, 
and  minghng  with  them  in  frequent  intercourse. 
Moreover,  many  of  the  duties  which  devolve  on  Chris- 
tians, require  that  they  should  associate  in  the  per- 
formance of  them  ;  and  in  general,  they  are  command- 
ed to  be  feUow  helpers  together  unto  the  kingdom  of 
God.  So  you  perceive  that  the  social  principle  in  man 
is  consulted  in  the  general  constitution  of  the  gospel. 

Nor  let  it  be  forgotten  that  it  is  the  tendency  of  the 
gospel  to  refine  and  exalt  the  social  affections,  as 
well  as  to  delineate  and  enforce  the  social  duties. 
What  is  it  that  embitters  the  intercourse  of  men  Avith 
each  other  ?  Is  it  not  a  spirit  of  pride,  ambition,  envy, 
revenge  ?  These  and  all  other  unhallowed  principles 
that  lodge  in  the  soul,  we  have  aheady  seen,  it  is  the 
tendency  of  the  gospel  to  exterminate  ;  and  at  the  same 
time  to  bring  into  exercise  the  gentler  affections,  and 
to  cherish  a  spirit  of  universal  good  will.  Thus  while 
Christianity  enjoins  duties  which  require  that  man 
-hould  be,  social,  she  also  sends  a  purifying  influence  to 
8.<i 


274  UKVKALED   RKLlCiiON.   ETC.         DISC.  VII. 

the  very  elements  of  liis  social  nature ;  at  once  mark- 
ing out  a  field  i'or  him,  and  fitting  him  to  occupy  it. 

Moreover,  Christianity  meets  the  desire  of  society  in 
another  respect ; — I  mean,  in  the  establishment  of  the 
Church.  Here  the  disciples  of  Christ  are  united  by  a. 
bond  of  holy  brotherhood,  foi'  the  very  purpose  of  being- 
helpers  of  each  otlier's  faith  and  joy.  What  though 
they  may  belong  to  different  ranks  of  society,  and  may 
have  been  born  in  different  countries,  and  educated,  in 
many  respects,  to  different  habits ;  what  though  they 
may  have  been  brought  together,  for  the  first  time,  from 
the  remotest  parts  of  the  earth  ;  if  they  speak  the  same 
language,  they  instantly  recognise  each  other  as  mem- 
bers of  the  same  sanctified  community.  And  they  have 
common  hopes,  and  joys,  and  sorrows,  and  wants,  and 
interests,  which  bring  them  together  in  common  acts  of 
<'ontrition,  and  supplication,  and  thanksgiving,  at  the 
throne  of  grace.  But  the  sweetest  of  all  their  acts  of 
communion  is  that  in  which  they  commemorate  the 
foundation  of  all  thek  hopes — the  death  of  Jesus  Christ 
their  Saviour.  Oh  when  they  meet  around  the  sacra- 
mental table,  and  together  lift  up  their  hearts  in  devout 
thanksgiving,  and  renew  the  pledges  of  their  christian 
afiection,  and  pour  their  hearts  into  a  common  offering 
of  gratitude  and  love  to  the  Savioui",  methinks  this  is 
(he  j)urest,  noblest,  sweetest,  exercise  of  which  the  so- 
cial afl'ections  are  here  suscej)tible.  It  is  a  communio)! 
wbicli  no  doubt  resembles  more  nearly  than  any  thins; 


DISC.  VIl.        llEVEALEn  RELIGION.  ETC.  27o 

else   on  earth   the   communion  of  the   icdeemed   in 
glory. 

Hitherto,  under  this  article,  I  have  considered  the 
gospel  as  meeting  the  social  desire  of  man  in  the  present 
life:  but  it  does  more  than  this — it  meets  the  same 
desire  through  every  period  of  his  existence.  For 
aught  that  appears  to  the  eye  of  sense,  when  the  inter- 
course of  friends  ceases  in  this  world,  it  ceases  forever : 
and  Reason,  in  her  most  improved  state,  can  do  no- 
thing better  than  dream  on  this  subject.  A  notion 
that  has  prevailed  to  a  considerable  extent,  in  the  pagan 
world,  is  that,  if  the  spirit  survives  the  body,  it  passe- 
into  some  other  body,  and  becomes  the  animating  prin- 
ciple, perhaps  of  a  beast  or  a  reptile :  how  unfriendly 
this  doctrine  is  to  any  thing  like  social  enjoyment  in  a 
future  world,  I  need  not  stop  to  show.  And  even  the 
pliilosophers  who  beheved  in  the  immortality  of  the 
soul  as  a  pure  intellectual  principle,  liavmg  liad  no 
other  idea  of  social  intercourse  than  through  the  me- 
dium of  the  senses,  must  have  been,  as  we  know  they 
were,  exceedingly  perplexed  on  the  question,  wliethei- 
the  intercourse  of  friends  could  ever  be  renewed  in  a 
future  life.  Now  the  gospel  has  set  tliis  question  fully 
at  rest.  It  has  revealed  the  dehghtful  truth,  that  every 
christian  friendship  is  formed  for  eternity ; — that  the 
Christian,  to  whose  languid  faith  the  dark  valley  some- 
times seems  doubly  dark,  because  he  leaves  on  the 
Iiither  side  of  it,  his  beloved  friends  in  Jesus,  may  con 
-olf  liiniielf  with  the  reflertion  tlint  he  Ita^  frieinir;  in 


276  REVEALED  RELIGION,  ETC.         DISC  VII. 

Heaven  too  waiting-  his  arrival ;  and  that  even  those 
whom  he  leaves  behind,  are  destined  soon  to  follow  in 
his  upward  track.  To  say  nothing  of  the  intercourse 
which  redeemed  spirits  may  enjoy  with  each  other  in 
their  disembodied  state,  of  which  it  must  be  confessed 
that  we  know  comparatively  little,  what  advantages 
for  social  enjoyment  must  be  furnished  by  that  state 
on  which  the  Christian  will  enter  at  the  final  con- 
summation !  Yes,  the  gospel  bids  the  believer  in  Jesus 
anticipate  a  meeting  hereafter,  not  with  his  beloved 
friends  onh',  with  whom  he  had  here  endured  the 
conflicts  and  trials  of  the  christian  life,  wdio  had 
been  the  helpers  of  his  faith  and  the  sharers  of  his  joy  : 
but  with  the  innumerable  multitude  who  constitute  the 
general  assembly  and  church  of  the  first  born ;  with 
patriarchs  and  prophets,  apostles  and  martyrs ;  all  of 
every  name  and  from  every  clime,  who  have  been 
ransomed  by  the  blood,  and  sanctified  by  the  Spirit  of 
Christ.  Oh,  what  a  community  must  that  be  in 
which  the  Christian  is  destined  to  mingle  !  And  then 
again,  his  own  character,  and  the  character  of  each  one 
of  that  glorified  assembly,  will  have  been  so  purified 
and  exalted,  that  there  will  be  a  susceptibiUty  of  enjoy- 
ment from  this  blessed  communion,  surpassing  all  our 
present  conceptions.  And  this  susceptibility  will  be 
constantly  increasing,  as  they  unitedly  cast  their 
<rowns  before  the  thione,  and  walk  over  the  plains  ot 
inunortality.  shouting  the  praises  of  redemption. 


DISC.  Vn.         REVEALED  RELIGION,   ETC  -iU 

The  angels — they  are  of  a  higher  nature  than  man 
— nevertheless  the  gospel  bids  the  Christian  anticipate 
a  communion  with  them  also.  We  are  assured  that 
they  are  not  indifferent  to  his  interests  in  the  present 
life  ;  that  they  are  ministering  spirits  sent  forth  to 
minister  to  them  who  are  the  heii's  of  salvation.  We 
know,  moreover,  that  they  regard  with  deep  interest 
the  scheme  of  man's  redemption,  and  are  represented 
as  eagerly  prying  into  its  mj^steries.  How  natural 
that  when  the  Christian  is  admitted  to  that  world  of 
which  they  are  native  inhabitants — they  should  desire 
to  associate  with  him,  not  only  from  the  general  bene- 
volence of  their  natiu^e,  but  to  learn  more  of  that  won- 
derfiil  plan  by  which  he  has  Ijeen  redeemed.  The 
gospel  assures  us  that  they  will  he  his  associates  ;  and 
in  the  Revelation  of  St.  John  they  are  represented  a^ 
even  joining  in  the  new  song  : — "  And  I  beheld,  and  I 
heard  the  voice  of  many  angels  round  about  the  throne, 
and  the  beasts  and  the  elders  ;  and  the  number  of  them 
was  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand,  and  thousands 
of  thousands  ;  saying  with  a  loud  voice.  Worthy  is  the 
Lamb  that  was  slain,  to  receive  power,  and  riches,  and 
wisdom,  and  strength,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and  bless- 
ing." 

I  may  say  also  reverently  that  the  gospel  opens  up 
to  the  believer  the  prospect  of  a  holy  intimacy  \vith 
.Iehovah  himself,  especially  in  the  character  of  a  Re- 
deemer.    Such   nn  intimacv  indeed,  in   one  sense.  i( 


:i78  REVEALED  RELIGION.  ETC.        DISC.  VI] . 

secures  to  him  here :  all  this  sacred  intercourse,  however, 
is  carried  on  through  the  medium  of  faith  ;  but  hereafter 
faith  will  give  way  to  vision,  and  the  glorified  saint  will 
be  permitted  to  contemplate  his  unveiled  majesty  ;  and 
to  commune  with  him,  I  had  almost  said,  as  a  man 
communes  with  his  friend.  Between  the  Christian  and 
his  Redeemer  there  will  indeed  always  be  the  whole 
distance  that  there  is  Ijetween  finite  and  infinite ;  ne- 
vertheless there  will  be  a  delightful  and  eternal  com- 
munion between  them ; — a  communion  which  is  all 
condescension  on  the  one  hand,  and  all  reverence, 
gratitude,  and  love,  on  the  other. 

I  inquue  now,  is  not  the  social  desire  in  man  com- 
pletely gratified  by  the  gospel  ?  And  in  this  view  of 
the  gospel,  what  light  and  consolation  does  it  shed  over 
the  valley  of  death  !  Mark  that  Christian  whose  eyes 
are  glistening  in  death,  and  whose  lips  are  open,  for 
the  last  time  on  earth,  to  bid  farewell  to  his  beloved 
friends,  his  companions  in  the  christian  life — Do  you 
wonder  that  it  is  a  cheerful  farewell  ?  Ah,  the  secret 
of  it  is,  that  he  realizes  that  the  separation  is  to  be  only 
temporary  ;  and  faith  anticipates  a  meeting  with  other 
christian  fiiends  who  have  gone  before  him,  and  who 
stand  waiting  at  the  threshold  of  heaven  to  greet  his 
arrival.  And  you  too,  brothers,  sisters,  friends  in  Christy 
who  stand  weeping  around  that  death  bed,  Ijieak  not 
your  hearts  at  the  departure  of  that  friend,  as  though 
vou  were  never  to  see  him  asrain.  bnt  rather  be  com- 


DISC.   Vil.         UKVKALKU  RELIGION,  ETC.  :ii':f 

forted  by  the  reflection  that  the  interruption  of  youi- 
intercourse  will  be  but  short,  and  that  you  will  soon  go 
to  mingle  with  him  in  the  joys  of  a  purer  and  more 
elevated  friendship  ;  and  not  with  him  only,  but  with 
all  the  happy  inhabitants  of  Heaven.  What  thanks 
do  we  not  owe  for  these  blessed  hopes  which  the  gospel 
inspires  ? 

To  the  several  original  desires  to  which  your  atten- 
tion has  been  called,  might  be  added  the  desire  of  hap- 
piness ;  but  I  shall  omit  a  distinct  consideration  of  this, 
as  I  choose,  in  the  present  discussion,  to  regard  happi- 
ness as  the  end  to  be  attained,  and  the  gratification  of 
the  other  desires  as  the  means  of  its  attainment.  If  1 
have  succeeded  in  showing  that  the  gospel  meets  the 
desire  of  continued  existence,  the  desire  of  action,  the 
desire  of  knowledge,  the  desire  of  the  approbation  and 
esteem  of  other  beings,  and  the  desire  of  society,  no- 
thing more  surely  need  be  said  to  show  that  it  meets 
the  desire  of  happiness :  and  here  I  may  safely  rest 
the  argument  of  the  discourse.  Man  is  constituted 
with  various  original  desires,  on  the  gratification  of 
Avhich  his  happiness  depends.  These  desires  the  gos- 
pel, and  that  only,  exactly  meets.  Therefore  Revealed 
Religion  is  the  only  source  of  true  happiness. 

On  a  brief  review  of  this  subject,  let  me  ask,  in  the 
first  place,  whether  it  does  not  furnish  a  coticliisive 
argument  for  the  divinity  of  the  gospel  ?  We  have 
seen  that  the  gospel  makes  provision  tor  all  the  original 


ibi)  KKVEALKU  RELlGIONj  ETC.         DISC.   VII. 

desires  of  man  ;  and  that  it  removes  all  the  difficulties 
which  lie  in  the  way  of  the  gratification  of  these  desires, 
in  consequence  of  man's  having  become  a  sinner.  For 
instance,  man  desires  an  immortal  existence ;  but  as  a 
sinner  he  has  become  hable  to  death :  the  gospel  has 
abolished  death,  and  brought  life  and  immortality  to 
Ught.  Again,  man  desires  the  gracious  approbation  of 
God ;  but  as  a  sinner  he  'has  become  obnoxious  to  the 
divine  displeasure :  the  gospel  reveals  a  way  by  which 
he  can  be  forgiven  and  accepted.  Is  it  so  then,  that  the 
gospel  not  only  contemplates  man  with  the  inherent 
desires  which  belong  to  his  nature,  but  that  it  contem- 
plates these  desires  in  connexion  with  the  fact  of  his 
being  a  fallen  creature  ?  In  short,  does  it  regard  him 
just  as  he  is,  and  make  provision  for  him  just  as  he  is  ? 
Who  then  will  dare  say  that  this  could  have  been  the 
product  of  any  human  intellect ;  or  that  any  other 
being  than  He  who  formed  man  with  his  original  de- 
sires could  have  framed  a  system  by  which  those 
deskes  should  be  completely  gratified  ?  And  then 
again,  are  not  the  attributes  of  Jehovah  imprinted  on 
the  very  constitution  of  the  gospel  ?  Where  will  you 
look  for  the  evidence  of  infinite  knowledge,  if  it  be  not 
in  that  perfect  acquaintance  with  the  human  heart  that 
is  displayed  by  the  author  of  the  Bible  ?  Where  for 
the  evidence  of  infinite  wisdom,  if  not  in  the  exact 
accommodation  of  means  to  ends  which  the  gospel  dis- 
<ioses :  especially  wliere  the  case  to  be  consulted  was 


DISC.    Vll.        REVKALEi)  RELililON,  ETC.  281 

rso  complicated,  so  difficult,  and  had  defied  the  powers 
of  the  most  exalted  intellects  on  earth  ?  Where  for  the 
evidence  of  infinite  benevolence,  if  not  in  the  provision 
which  the  gospel  offers  for  all  the  moral  wants  of  man  ; 
provision  to  relieve  him  from  miseries  of  which  he  has 
himself  been  the  voluntary  cause  ?  He  who  can  con- 
template facts  Uke  these,  and  yet  withhold  his  assent  to 
the  divinity  of  the  gospel,  must  be  sadly  deficient  either 
in  reason  or  conscience :  he  must  either  belie  his  own 
convictions,  or  else  he  must  be  incapable  of  estimating 
evidence  which  is  brighter  than  the  sun  at  noon-day. 

It  is  a  consideration  which  gives  much  additional  im- 
portance to  this  argument  for  the  divinity  of  the  gos- 
pel, that  it  is  one  which  is  within  the  reach  of  everj^ 
mind,  and  is  capable  of  being  readily  brought  home  to 
every  bosom.  It  requires  no  deep  research,  no  patient 
investigation,  to  feel  its  full  force ;  for  the  original  de- 
sires of  the  human  breast  are  continually  active ;  and 
we  have  only  to  open  the  Bible  to  see  that  it  reveals  a 
system  which  effectually  provides  for  them.  Hence 
one  reason  why  the  obscure  and  the  unlearned  may 
and  do  attain  to  just  as  deep  a  conviction  of  the  truth 
of  the  gospel,  as  those  who  are  given  to  profound  re- 
search. They  may  know  little  or  nothing  of  the  phi- 
losophical evidence  of  Christianity,  and  perhaps  may 
never  have  had  their  thoughts  turned  to  many  of  the 
most  common  arguments  in  its  favor  ;  but  they  know 
that  it  is  precisely  what  they  need  :  that  it  calms  their 


282  IIKVEALED  RELIGIONj  ETC.        DISC.  VII. 

fears,  and  assuages  their  sorrows,  and  pours  light  upon 
their  darkness,  and  Hfts  up  their  souls  to  an  unearthly 
joy ;  luid  you  might  as  well  attempt  to  convince  them 
tiiat  noonday  was  midnight,  as  that  this  system  had 
not.  God  for  its  author.  Blessed  be  God  that  he  has 
tlius  written  the  evidence  of  Christianity  in  our  very 
nature ;  and  that  he  who  pronounces  it  a  fable  is  obliged 
to  shut  his  eyes  upon  the  light  within  him,  as  well  as 
the  light  around  him  ! 

Again :  Hoio  malignant  is  the  spirit  of  infi- 
delity !  Suppose  Christianity  were  really  a  fable — it 
would  discover  malignity  in  the  unbeliever  to  oppose  it 
even  then  ;  for  upon  no  principle  can  it  be  charged  with 
any  injurious  tendency,  and  there  are  millions  to  testify 
that  it  is  a  source  of  rich  enjoyment.  It  exerts  a 
general  influence  on  society  altogether  favorable  to 
happiness ;  and  those  by  whom  it  is  practically  em- 
braced, find,  or  if  you  please,  think  they  find,  in  it  a. 
joy  that  is  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory.  It  is  a  ma- 
lignant thing  for  the  atheist  to  oppose  it  upon  his  prin- 
ciples ;  for  if  death  really  blots  man  out  of  being, 
why  not  suffer  him  to  take  comfort  in  his  delusions  as 
long  as  he  can  ?  What  harm  will  result  to  him,  after 
he  has  ceased  to  exist,  from  the  fact  that  his  mind  was 
revelling  to  the  last  on  the  bright  visions  of  immortality  ? 
Nor  is  it  a  less  malignant  work  in  the  deist  to  oppose 
the  gospel ;  for  the  gospel  leaves  him  at  liberty  to  make 
ns  much  of  the  religion  of  nature  as  he  can  :  she  closes 


DISC.  vrr.         REVEALED  RELrOION,  ETC.  ^63 

not  against  him  a  single  source  of  consolation  whicli 
human  Reason  has  opened ;  and  if  others  find  Reason 
an  insufficient  guide,  and  choose  to  avail  themselves 
of  the  aid  which  they  suppose  the  gospel  proffers,  and  in 
doing  so  find  a  rich  addition  to  their  happiness,  where- 
fore should  he  desire  to  lay  an  icy  hand  upon  their  joys  ?- 
If  he  is  safe  with  the  religion  of  nature,  they  sm^ely 
cannot  be  brought  into  jeopardy  by  beUeving  the  gos- 
pel, even  though  the  gospel  be  a  fable  ;  and  so  long  as 
their  believing  it  does  him  no  harm,  and  does  the 
Avorld  no  haim,  why  not  leave  them  to  all  the  enjoy- 
ment they  can  obtain  ? 

But  admitting  the  gospel  to  be  true,  who  can  mea- 
sure the  malignity  which  they  discover  who  oppose  it .' 
for  they  are  not  only  chargeable  with  opposing  with  all 
their  might  the  best  interests  of  man  in  the  present 
life,  but  of  doing  their  utmost  to  blast  all  the  hopes  of 
the  Ufe  to  come.  Behold  infidelity  abroad  in  the  earth, 
and  see  how  the  wrecks  of  human  happiness  thicken 
around  her  !  Into  that  cabin  in  which  the  widow  is 
feeding  upon  her  last  crust,  and  holding  communion 
with  tears,  but  nevertheless  sustained  l)y  the  consola- 
tions of  a  good  hope  through  grace,  infidelity  goes  to 
wrest  from  her  those  living  consolations,  and  thrust 
into  her  hands  the  cup  of  despair.  At  that  dying  bed 
where  the  Christian  is  just  going  otf  to  heaven  in  ;« 
chariot  of  glory,  and  is  already  becoming  entranced 
\vith  the  vision  of  angels,  infidelity  would  fain   plant 


2S4  HEVEALEft  KELIGION.  ETC.        ])ISC.  Vll. 

herself  down  to  prove  that  all  that  triumph  is  delusion, 
and  that  instead  of  rising  to  the  glories  of  an  immortal 
existence,  he  is  sinking  into  the  hideous  abyss  of  anni- 
hilation. Into  that  circle  of  mourners  bending  over  the 
grave  of  departed  fiiendship,  whose  hearts,  saddened  by 
bereavement,  are  yet  cheered  by  the  prospects  which 
the  gospel  opens,  infidelity  rushes,  tiger-like,  to  say  that 
there  will  be  no  meeting  with  that  friend  beyond  the 
grave,  or  that  every  thing  in  relation  to  the  future  is 
matter  of  wild  conjecture.  And  universally,  she  lays 
the  axe  at  the  root  of  human  happiness  ;  and  finds  her 
triumphs  not  in  closing,  but  opening  sources  of  human 
Avo.  Once  she  was  let  loose  upon  the  world;  and 
blessed  be  God  the  report  of  her  exploits  is  known 
among  the  nations.  The  wild  tempest  that  she  pro- 
duced in  the  moral  world,  has  even  now  scarcely  died 
away  upon  the  ear ;  and  the  two  millions  of  graves 
that  she  peopled,  yet  bear  witness  that  blood  is  her  ap- 
propriate nourishment.  The  sceptre  has  indeed  fallen 
from  her  hands :  nevertheless  she  is  on  the  earth, 
breathing  out  the  blasphemy,  and  moving  about  in  the 
livery,  of  the  pit.  She  is  heard  now  speaking  forth 
from  the  dark  haunts  of  pollution,  and  is  seen  belching 
out  her  poison  through  tracts  and  newspapers ;  and  if 
she  had  courage  and  strength  enough,  you  would  see 
her  levelling  with  the  dust  all  our  noble  institutions, 
breaking  down  all  the  altars  of  God,  burning  every 
christian  church.  lifHng  her  standard  on  everv  hill  and 


DISC.  VII.        REVEALED  RELIGION,  ETC.  285 

in  every  valley,  and  planting  a  guillotine  by  the  side  of 
it.  Let  every  one  then,  especially  let  every  youth,  be- 
ware how  he  looks  upon  infidelity  even  with  indif- 
ference. Become  an  infidel,  and  you  are  lost ; — lost  to 
honor — lost  to  happiness^lost  to  heaven  ! 

Finally :  How  blessed  the  employment  of  extend- 
ing the  gospel !  It  were  a  noble  employment  if  it 
were  only  for  the  benign  influence  which  the  gospel 
exerts  upon  man  in  the  present  life  ;  for  the  consolation 
Avhich  it  yields  him  in  trial,  and  for  its  general  tendency 
to  improve  and  elevate  human  society.  But  when 
regarded  in  its  connexion  with  the  interests  of  eternity, 
as  meeting  all  the  desires  of  an  immortal  being,  what 
language  can  adequately  describe  the  importance  that 
belongs  to  every  effort  that  is  made  to  extend  it. 
Friends  of  the  Saviour,  ye  are  laboring  to  diffuse  hap- 
piness throughout  the  earth  ;  and  not  only  so,  but  ye 
are  sowing  seed  which,  though  possibly  it  may  not 
germinate  till  you  are  in  your  graves,  will  certainly 
yield  a  harvest  of  immortal  glory.  Go  on  then  and 
prosper.  Let  your  hands  never  tire,  your  hearts  never 
faint,  in  this  godhke  enterprise.  Fear  not  the  scoffs, 
nor  the  menaces,  of  infidelity.  The  day  is  at  hand 
when  she  will  hide  her  head  in  confusion  ;  and  another 
day  is  hastening  on,  when  she  will  wail  because  of  her 
infatuation,  and  will  call  upon  the  rocks  and  the 
mountains  to  fall  on  her,  and  cover  her  from  the  wrath 
of  the  Lamb.     Tn  the  intensity  of  her  despair,  and  in 


286  REVEALED  RELIGION,  ETC.        niSC.  VII. 

the  bitterness  of  her  wailing,  she  will  see  the  complete 
triumph  of  that  cause  which  she  opposed,  while  you 
will  lift  up  your  head  in  ecstacy  that  the  day  of  your 
final  reward  is  come.  Bless  God  that  you  are  permit- 
ted to  labor  for  the  extension  of  the  gospel,  and  give 
him  all  the  glory  of  your  success  ! 

From  the  height  to  which  this  subject  elevates  us, 
my  brethren,  we  have  a  right  to  cast  an  eye  abroad 
over  the  world,  and  raise  the  shout  of  triumph.  Hear 
you  that  sound  that  comes  from  over  the  mountains, 
and  from  the  depths  of  the  forest,  and  from  the  islands 
of  the  sea  ?  It  is  the  sound  of  salvation — it  is  the  new 
song  trembling  on  the  lips  of  the  converted  pagan — it 
is  a  deep  current  of  praise  and  thanksgiving  coming 
forth  from  a  heart,  which  has  but  just  learned  to  thrill 
at  the  name  of  Jesus.  Perceive  you  that  stirring  in 
every  christian  land,  such  as  the  world  has  not  seen 
before  ?  Believe  me,  it  is  the  stirring  of  a  spirit  which 
is  destined  to  send  the  gospel  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
There  is  no  mistake  on  this  subject— there  can  be  none  ; 
for  already  the  thrones  of  Paganism  begin  to  totter : 
the  cloud  that  stretches  over  the  nations  is  fringed  with 
the  bright  hues  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  ;  while 
infidelity  alternately  shakes  with  terror,  and  is  con- 
vulsed with  rage,  as  she  bends  over,  and  looks  into  hei 
own  grave.  Yes,  Paganism  shall  die  ;  Infidelity  shall 
die ;  Mahommedism  shall  die ;  but  Christianity  shall 
live  to  sing  her  song  of  triumph  over  the  grave  of  each  •. 


DISC.    VII.        REVEALED  RELIGION,   ETC.  287 

and  after  this  world  is  burnt  up,  she  shall  ascend  to  the 
third  Heavens,  to  hold  an  eternal  reign  of  love  and 
glory.  In  the  prospect  of  such  a  triumph,  let  all  on 
earth,  and  all  in  Heaven,  shout,  '  Allalujah  !' 


DISCOURSE  VIIl 


HE  DIVINE  TESTIMONY  TO  THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRISJ 


Acts  v.  32. — "  And  we  are  bis  witnesses  of  tliese  things  ;   and  so  also  is  tlie 
Holy  Ghost,  whom  God  hath  given  to  them  that  obey  him." 


These  words  are  a  part  of  the  defence,  which  Peter, 
in  behalf  of  himself  and  the  other  Apostles,  made 
before  the  great  Council  of  the  Jewish  nation.  From 
the  connexion,  it  is  evident,  that  the  things,  of  which 
the  Apostles  were  witnesses  and  also  the  Holy  Ghost, 
Avere  the  death,  resurrection  and  ascension  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  Of  these  events,  two  distinct  and  con- 
current testimonies  are  mentioned  in  our  text — that  of 
the  Apostles  and  that  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  By  the  mouth 
of  the  Apostles  God  announced  to  the  world  the  death, 
resurrection  and  ascension  of  his  Son,  and  by  the 
miraculous  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost  he  testified  that  the 
words  of  the  Apostles  were  true. 
37 


'i^O  THE  RESURRECTION  DISC.  VIII. 

We  design  to  consider  these -testimonies  in  reference 
to  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and  omit- 
ting many  collateral  proofs  of  the  same  important  fact,, 
we  shall  direct  your  attention  to  the  evidence  arising 
from  the  two  sources  pointed  out  in  the  Scripture, 
which  we  have  read. 

J. 

THE  TESTIMONY  OP  THE  APOSTLES. 

Besides  the  Apostles  there  were  many  other  wit- 
nesses of  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord.  During  the 
forty  days,  which  intervened  between  his  resuirection 
and  ascension,  he  appeared  to  many  of  his  friends: 
and  as  the  Apostle  Paul  informs  us,  he  was  seen  of 
above  five  hundred  brethren  at  one  time.  But  inde- 
pendently of  these,  the  Lord  Jesus,  just  before  his  as 
cension,  particularly  designated  the  Apostles  to  be 
witnesses  of  what  he  had  said  and  done  and  suffered : 
and,  especially,  of  his  resurrection  and  ascension.  In 
order  to  supply  the  place  of  Judas,  who  had  apostatized, 
the  Eleven  chose  by  lot  another  disciple  who  had  been 
an  eye  and  ear  witness  of  what  Jesus  had  said  and 
done  during  his  public  ministry.  On  every  suiteible 
occasion,  afterwards,  we  find  the  Apostles  publicly 
testifying  that  Jesus  had  risen  from  the  dead  and 
ascended  to  Heaven — that  they  had  seen  him  and 
conversed  with  him, — that,  having  had  the  best  possible 
opportunity  of  ascertaining  the  fact,  they  knew  it  was 
the  same  person,  whom  the  Jews  had  crucified  during 
the  passover  at  Jerusalem.  And  where  could  witnesses 
more  competent  and  snitabli^  be   found?     They  hod 


i)j.sr.  vni.  oj-  criiiisi .  •49\ 

been  the  daily  and  intimate  associates  of  Jesas.  more 
than  three  years — -had  attended  him  whithersoever  lie 
went,  and  had  had  every  possible  opportunity  of  know- 
ing his  form,  his  complexion,  his  voice,  his  manners, 
his  person.  And,  in  their  frequent  interviews  with 
hun  after  his  crucifixion,  they  had  abundant  opportu- 
nities to  recognize  every  characteristic,  by  which  he 
was  distinguished.  These  witnesses  were  not  called 
on  to  identify  a  person,  whom  they  had  seen  once  or 
twice  or  even  twenty  times,  in  a  transient  manner, 
under  peculiar  circumstances  ;  but  one  with  whom 
they  had  lived  and  journeyed  for  years — one  w4iom 
they  had  heard,  times  without  number,  six^ak  in  private 
and  public — one  whose  voice  and  manner  and  style  of 
address  were  as  familiar  to  them  as  it  is  possible  to  con- 
ceive. There  was  therefore  profound  wisdom  in  select- 
ing those,  who  had  been  eye  and  ear  witnesses  of  all 
that  Jesus  had  said  and  done,  to  be  witnesses  of  his 
resurrection ;  because  they  were  better  qualified  than 
any  others,  to  perform  that  ofiice. 

After  his  resurrection,  they  had  every  possible  oppoi- 
t  unity  of  ascertaining  his  identity.  He  was  with  them 
repeatedly  for  forty  days.  They  saw  him  in  different 
places  and  in  various  circumstances.  They  received 
his  instructions  respecting  the  nature  of  his  kingdom 
and  the  service  which  they  were  to  perform  in  esta- 
blishing it.  They  saw  the  wounds  in  his  hands  and 
his  feet.  They  handled  him  and  perceived  by  the 
evidence  of  touch  that  he  was  no  phantom.  They  saw 
liim  pfit.  nnd  heard  him.  in  his  own  peculiar  and  inimi- 


292  IIIK   RKSURRKCTION  DISC.  VIll. 

table  manner,  give  tlianks  to  his  heavenly  Father. 
That  some  of  them  did  not  at  first  sight  recognize  him 
— that  others  did  not  believe  the  evidence  of  their  own 
senses  was  natural,  and  only  serves  to  show  that  no- 
thing less  than  irresistible  demonstrations  of  identity- 
brought  them  to  acknowledge  their  risen  Master.  So 
contrary,  were  the  things  which  had  taken  place,  to  all 
their  anticipations  and  previous  hopes,  that  they  could 
not  trust  to  the  first  report  of  their  own  senses.  During 
the  dark  period  in  which  he  lay  in  the  grave,  all  their 
hopes  seemed  to  have  vanished ;  and  so  incredulous 
was  one  of  them,  that  he  refused  to  l^elieve  until  Jesus 
commanded  him  to  put  his  finger  into  the  print  of  the 
nails  and  to  thrust  his  hand  into  his  side.  Surely  this 
was  requiring  evidence  as  strong  as  infidelity  itself 
could  demand. 

It  may  be  thought,  that  as  the  resurrection  is  an 
important  and  fundamental  fact  in  the  Christian  sys- 
tem, Jesus  ought  to  have  exhibited  himself  to  all  the 
inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  so  that  we  might  have  had 
their  undivided  testimony  in  confirmation  of  our  faith. 
To  my  mind,  I  honestly  declare,  that  the  testimony  of 
twelve  men  or  even  of  half  that  number  in  the  circum- 
stances, in  which  the  Apostles  were,  is  more  satisfactory, 
than  if  all  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  had  avowed 
their  belief  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus.  In  the  first 
place,  because  none  of  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem 
were  so  well  qualified  as  the  Apostles  to  identify  the. 
person  of  our  Lord.      Many  of  them  had  seen  him 


DISC.  VIII.  i)F  CHRIS'l  .  293 

only  occasionally  during  the  public  festivals,  when  he 
taught  in  the  temple,  or  performed  miracles.  To  de- 
ceive those,  who  had  seen  him  only  a  few  times,  in 
peculiar  circumstances,  before  his  crucifixion,  would 
have  been  comparatively  easy.  But  that  the  Apostles 
could  be  deceived,  as  to  the  identity  of  their  Master, 
whom  they  had  attended  for  years,  is  utterly  impossi- 
l)le.  In  the  next  place,  if  thousands  in  Jerusalem  had 
avowed  their  belief  of  the  resurrection,  they  would 
have  incurred  no  responsibility.  The  general  agree- 
ment in  the  same  sentiment  would  have  put  down  op- 
position ;  so  that  no  danger  could  have  arisen  from 
assenting  to  the  common  opinion.  Such  was  not  the 
case  with  the  Apostles.  They  well  knew  the  risk  at 
which  they  were  to  bear  testimony  to  the  resurrection 
of  their  Master.  They  well  knew  that,  in  testifying 
that  Jesus  had  risen,  they  would  virtually  accuse  the 
Jewish  Priests  and  Rulers  of  a  most  atrocious  crime. 
Indeed  when  they  affirmed  the  resurrection  they  could 
not  avoid  charging  those  concerned  in  the  crucifixion 
with  shedding  innocent  blood.  So  deep  and  full  was 
their  persuasion  of  the  reality  of  the  fact  announced,  that 
the  Apostles  knowingly  and  deliberately  assumed  the  re- 
sponsibility connected  with  their  testimony.  If  Jesus 
had  appeared  to  all  or  to  a  great  part  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Jerusalem,  the  same  proof  of  the  veracity  of  the 
witnesses  could  not  have  been  given.  The  responsi- 
l)ility  would  have  been  shared  by  so  many,  that  no  one 
would  have  been  exposed  to  dansrer  in  affirming  that 


:i94  I'llK  KESURRECTIOX  IHSC.  VIII. 

Jesus  had  risen.  But  as  the  Apostles  stood  almost 
alone,  and  unprotected  by  public  sentiment  from  the 
rage  of  the  Rulers,  they  gave  the  highest  possible  proof 
of  their  sincerity,  in  affirming  on  all  occasions  the 
resurrection  of  their  Master.  And  if  the  Apostles  were 
sincere,  i.  e.  believed  what  they  affirmed,  their  testimony 
was  true  ;  because  they  could  not  be  deceived.  They 
had  the  evidence  of  their  sight  and  hearing  and  touch 
that  the  person  with  whom  they  were  so  well  ac- 
quainted had  been  with  them  after  his  crucifixion. 
Here  let  it  be  distinctly  noticed,  that  the  subject  to 
which  the  Apostles  gave  testimony  was  a  matter  of 
fact,  and  not  an  opinion  depending  on  a  process  of 
reasoning,  which  is  often  erroneous.  It  was  a  fact 
submitted  to  their  senses  and  not  an  abstract  specula- 
tion, nor  a  sacred  tradition  received  from  their  ances- 
tors, the  truth  of  which  the  Apostles  were  willing  to 
seal  with  their  blood.  Let  it  be  admitted,  that  the 
Apostles  were  sincere  in  their  behef  that  Jesus  had 
risen,  and  it  follows  as  an  inevitable  consequence  that 
iheir  testimony  is  true :  because  they  could  not  bo 
deceived. 

Their  sincerity  we  conceive  is  abundantly  established 
by  the  disgrace  and  dangers  and  sufferings  to  which 
they  submitted  in  announcing  the  resurrection  of  their 
Master.  When  the  Hindoo  voluntarily  suffers  himself 
to  be  crushed  beneath  the  car  of  Juggernaut — when 
the  Mohammedan  sacrifices  himself  in  defence  of  the 
doctrines  of  the  Prophet — when  the  Catholic  or  tho 


DISC.   VIU.  OF  CHRIST.  295 

Protestant  submits  to  death,  ratlier  than  renounce  the 
faith  of  his  ancestors,  it  proves  beyond  all  reasonable 
doubt,  that  he  is  sincere  in  his  belief  of  the  opinions  for 
which  he  is  willing  to  die.  But  it  does  not  prove  the 
truth  of  the  opinions  themselves:  because  men  are  often 
fully  persuaded  of  the  truth  of  opinions  which  are 
utterly  false.  I'he  Apostles  did  not  attest  their  belief 
of  abstract  speculative  opinions,  respecting  which  they 
might  easily  have  been  in  error.  They  bore  witness  to 
a  fact  of  which  they  had  the  strongest  possible  cer- 
tainty— the  evidence  of  their  senses. 

In  his  wise  and  holy  Providence,  God  so  ordered 
matters,  that  the  witnesses  of  the  resurrection  of  our 
Lord  gave  the  fullest  proof  of  their  sincerity.  They 
commenced  their  testimony  at  Jerusalem,  the  place 
where  Jesus  died  and  rose  again.  Within  fifty  days 
after  the  crucifixion,  while  all  the  circumstances  of  the 
case  were  fresh  in  the  memory  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Jerusalem,  they  announced  the  resurrection  of  their 
Lord.  This  was  not  a  subject  which  excited  no 
interest  and  called  forth  no  inquiry.  The  interests  of 
the  whole  Jewish  nation  were  deeply  involved  in  the 
issue,  and  especially  were  the  Priests  and  Rulers  impU- 
cated  in  the  guilt  of  the  most  atrocious  crime.  The 
Saducees,  who  at  that  time  were  probably  the  most  nu- 
merous sect  in  the  great  Council  of  Jerusalem,  could 
not,  and  did  not  hear  with  indifference  a  fact  an- 
nounced, which  overturned  tlie  favourite  doctrine  foj- 
which  they  so  earnestly  contended — that  there  is  no 


■:i9G  TllK  llESURRECTlUiV  JJISC.  Vlll, 

resurrection  or  future  state.  The  civil  and  religiou» 
power  was  in  the  hands  of  the  enemies  of  Jesus  ;  and 
w^ould  they  or  did  they  make  no  attempt  to  arrest  the 
report  that  he,  whom  they  had  crucified,  had  risen  from 
the  dead  ? 

After  tlie  crucifixion  the  body  of  Jesus  was  not 
committed  to  his  friends.  Aware  that  he  had  pre- 
dicted his  resurrection,  his  enemies  having  closed  the 
sepiUchre  with  all  care,  surrounded  it  with  an  armed 
guard.  And  to  account  for  the  absence  of  the  bod)'^, 
t  hey  bribed  the  soldiers  to  tell  a  story  which  bore  on  the 
very  face  of  it  the  evidence  of  its  own  falsehood — that 
the  disciples  of  Jesus  had  stolen  the  body  while  they 
were  asleep.  Why  were  not  the  soldiers  punished  for 
neglect  of  military  duty  ?  Had  this  been  attempted, 
they  would  have  published  the  truth  and  confirmed  the 
fact  which  their  employers  were  anxious  to  conceal. 
Instead  of  proving  that  the  testimony  of  the  Apostles 
was  false,  the  Jewish  Rulers  scourged  and  imprisoned 
them,  and  threatened  severer  punishment  if  they  per- 
sisted in  asserting  the  resurrection  of  Jesus.  Thus 
they  gave  the  Apostles  an  opportunity  of  evincing  to 
the  world  their  foil  and  perfect  conviction,  on  evidence 
which  they  could  not  resist,  that  their  Master  had  risen. 

Why  it  may  be  asked  did  not  Jesus  appear  to  the 
Rulers  and  convince  them,  so  that  we  might  have  had 
the  testimony  of  the  Senate  of  Jerusalem,  entered  on 
their  public  records,  to  a  fact  which  carries  with  it  con- 
sequences so  momentous?     Jn  I  he  first  place,  we  an- 


J3ISC.  VIII.  OF  CHRIST.  297 

swer,  that  it  is  by  no  means  certain  or  even  probable, 
that  the  Jewish  Rulers  would  have  yielded  to  the  evi- 
dence of  their  own  senses,  and  become  sincere  believers, 
even  if  Jesus  had  appeared  to  them  after  his  resurrec- 
tion. Some  of  them  had  probably  seen  Lazarus, 
whom  Jesus  had  raised  from  the  dead.  All  of  them 
had  had  an  opportunity  of  ascertaining  the  fact,  as 
Bethany,  the  residence  of  Lazarus  was  not  two  miles 
distant  from  Jerusalem.  They  had  seen  and  examined 
the  man  born  blind,  whom  Jesus  had  restored  to  hie^ 
sight.  They  had  heard  the  testimony  of  Judas — that 
he  had  betrayed  innocent  blood.  They  had  heard  the 
declaration  of  the  soldiers,  who  watched  the  sepulchre, 
respecting  the  earthquake,  and  the  angel  who  rolled 
away  the  stone  from  the  door  of  the  sepulchre.  Yet 
after  all  this  evidence,  the  Priests  and  Rulers  bribed  the 
soldiers  to  teU  a  self-contradictory  falsehood,  in  order  to 
keep  the  people  ignorant  of  what  had  actually  oc- 
curred. We  have  here  in  the  conduct  of  the  Jewish 
Priests  and  Rulers  an  instance  of  the  wonderful 
infatuation,  of  which  the  human  mind,  when  under  the 
influence  of  worldly  interests  and  mahgnant  passions, 
is  susceptible.  Strange  and  almost  incredible  as  the 
infatuation  of  the  Jewish  Rulers  may  appear,  it  is  not 
more  unaccountable  than  what  we  every  day  witness. 
Do  we  not  see  men  by  no  means  destitute  of  intelli- 
gence persevering  in  a  course  of  intemperance,  when 
they  know  that  hundreds  and  thousands  are  daily  fall- 
ing victims  to  the  destroyer  ?  Does  not  the  desire  tc> 
38 


:i9b  THE  KESUKREUTIUN  DISC.  Vlll. 

lemove  a  rival  often  impel  men  to  sever  all  the  bonds 
of  humanity  and  to  execute  their  purpose  at  the  peril 
of  life  and  the  retributions  of  eternity  ? 

In  the  second  place,  we  answer,  that  the  Jewish 
Rulers  and  all  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  had  evi- 
dence more  convincing  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus, 
ihan  if  he  had  appeared  to  every  one  of  them  and 
showed  them  his  hands  and  his  feet  and  his  side  which 
they  had  pierced.  The  event  we  admit  was  extraordi- 
nar)^ ;  and  the  evidence  by  which  it  is  substantiated  is 
equally  extraordinary.     We  mean — 

II. 
THE  TESTIMONY  OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST. 

The  Rulers  and  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  had 
the  testimony  of  God  expressed  in  a  'manner  the 
most  clear  and  unequivocal.  Immediately  before 
liis  ascension,  Jesus  had  commanded  his  Apostles 
not  to  commence  their  public  testimony  until  they 
were  endowed  with  power  from  on  high.  About  ten 
days  after  the  ascension,  while  they  were  waiting  at 
Jerusalem  for  the  fulfilment  of  this  promise,  God  inter- 
posed in  a  manner  so  miraculous  as  to  leave  no  room  to 
doubt  the  veracity  of  the  Apostles.  In  the  language  of 
the  Sacred  Historian — suddenly  there  came  a  sound 
from  heaven^  as  of  a  rushing  mighty  wind,  and  it 
fdled  all  the  place  where  they  were  sitting.  And 
there  appeared  unto  them,  cloven  tongues  like  as  of 
fire,  and  it  sat  upon  each  of  them.  These  exhibitions 
were  significant  emblems,  of  the  power  that  would 
riftend  the  preaching  of  the  Apostles,  and  of  the  various 


DISC.  VIII.  OP  CHRIST.  299 

languages  in  which  they  would  speak  to  men  of  dif- 
ferent nations.  Soon  they  had  an  opportunity  of  giving 
abundant  proof  that  they  were  endowed  with  this 
power.  For  among  the  multitude,  which  came  to- 
gether on  the  report  of  what  had  taken  place,  there 
were  men  from  all  parts  of  the  known  world,  and  each 
heard  the  wonderful  works  of  God  announced  to  him 
in  his  native  tongue.  To  the  foreigners  at  that  time 
residing  in  Jerusalem,  a  clearer  demonstration  could 
not  have  been  given,  that  those  who  addressed  them 
were  inspired  by  God,  and  that  the  message  delivered 
was  from  Heaven. 

In  a  transaction  of  this  nature,  there  could  be  no  de- 
ception. To  Parthians  and  Medes  and  Elamites  and 
the  dwellers  in  Mesopotamia  and  in  Judea  and  Cappa- 
docia,  in  Pontus  and  Asia,  Phrygia  and  Pamphyha,  in 
Egypt  and  Lybia  and  strangers  from  Rome,  Jews  and 
proselytes,  Cretes  and  Arabians,  illiterate  men  of  Gali- 
lee spoke  in  a  manner  peifectly  intelligible.  The  re- 
port of  this  event,  carried  as  would  naturally  be  the 
case  to  various  parts  of  the  world,  no  doubt  greatly 
facilitated  the  entrance  and  progress  of  the  gospel  in 
the  places  whence  these  men  came. 

To  the  natives  of  Jerusalem  unacquainted  with  the 
foreign  languages  spoken  by  the  Apostles,  the  uncom- 
mon exhibition  seemed  a  confused  and  unintelligible 
jargon.  And  the  Jewish  Rulers  or  those  under  their 
influence  artfully  represented,  this  wonderful  display  of 
divine  power,  as  the  ravings  of  intoxicated  madmen. 
Peter  addressing  the  multitude  in  the  common  Ian- 


300  THE  RESURRKCTION  DISC.   VIM. 

guagc  of  Judea  repelled  the  suggestion,  and  showed 
that  this  event  was  in  fulfilment  of  an  ancient  pro- 
phecy, and  that  it  demonstrated  in  the  clearest  manner, 
that  Jesus,  who  had  sufiered  on  Calvary,  had  risen 
from  the  dead. 

If  the  facts  alleged  were  so,  v/hat  proof  of  the  resur- 
rection of  our  Lord,  could  be  more  irresistible?  Here 
were  men  using  eight  or  nine  different  languages,  who 
could  all  attest  that  they  heard  the  wonderful  works  of 
God,  each  in  his  own  native  tongue.  The  effect  cor- 
responded with  the  means  employed.  On  that  memo- 
rable day,  three  thousand  men  believed  and  enrolled 
themselves  as  the  disciples  of  Jesus. 

Again  not  man)^  days  afterwards  Peter  and  John 
healed  a  lame  man,  who  sat  begging  at  the  gate  of  the 
temple,  and  declared  to  the  astonished  multitude,  that 
it  was  not  by  any  virtue  or  power  of  their  own,  but  in 
the  name  of  their  risen  Master  that  this  man,  known 
as  a  cripple  from  his  infancy,  stood  before  them  in  the 
perfect  use  of  his  limbs.  When  called  before  the 
Priests  and  Rulers  to  answer  for  drawing  away  the 
people  from  the  religion  of  their  ancestors,  the  Apostles 
made  the  same  declaration,  affirming  they  were  wit- 
nesses of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  and  appealing  to 
the  miracles  wrought  in  his  name  as  proofs  that  their 
testimony  was  true.  After  they  had  been  imprisoned 
and  scourged  and  forbidden  to  preach  to  the  people  the 
resurrection  of  their  Master,  they  continued  to  attest 
^he  same  fact.     And  when  called  the  second  time  before 


DISC.   VIII.  OF  CHRIST.  301 

the  grand  Council  of  Jerusalem,  they  again  affirmed 
that  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  whom  these  men  had  crucified, 
had  risen  from  the  dead,  declaring,  that  they  were  wit- 
nesses of  these  things,  and  so  also  was  the  Holy  Ghost, 
whom  God  had  given  to  them  that  obey  him.  Now  if 
God  thus  gave  his  testimony  to  the  resurrection  of 
Jesus,  it  was  evidence  to  the  Rulers  and  to  all  the  inha- 
bitants of  Jerusalem  much  stronger  than  if  our  Lord 
had  appeared  to  them  ever  so  often  in  person. 

It  has  been  asked  in  substance — if  a  majority  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  and  especially,  if  the  Priests 
and  Rulers  having  heard  the  testimony  of  the  Apostles 
and  seen  the  miracles  wrought  in  confirmation  of  this 
testimony  still  persisted  in  rejecting  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
as  the  Messiah  promised  to  their  Fathers,  why  should 
we  at  this  distant  day,  believe  him  to  be  the  Son  of 
God  and  the  Sa.viour  of  the  world  ?  We  answer,  we 
have  nothing  to  do  with  the  conclusions,  which  the 
Jews  drew,  from  the  facts  presented  to  their  observation. 
The  only  question  to  be  determined  is — did  the  facts 
recorded  in  the  evangelical  history  take  place  ? — Did 
the  Apostles  testify,  that  Jesus  rose  fi^om  the  dead,  and 
persist  in  their  testimony,  when  they  had  no  conceiva- 
ble motive  to  tell  a  falsehood — when  on  the  contrary 
they  put  in  jeopardy  their  reputation  and  liberty  and 
lives  ? — Did  illiterate  Galileans  speak  foreign  lan- 
guages which  they  had  no  opportunity  of  acquiring  in 
the  ordinary  way  ? — Did  a  man  more  than  forty  years 
of  age,  lame  from  his  birth,  rise  and  walk,  when  com 


302  THE  RESURRECTION  DISC.  Vlll. 

manded,  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  to  do  so  ? — And  did  the 
Apostles  allege  these  and  other  miracles  in  confirmation 
of  the  resmrection  which  they  preached ?  If  we  can 
satisfy  ourselves  on  these  points,  we  are  as  competent 
as  the  Jewish  Rulers  or  any  of  the  inhabitants  of  Jeru- 
salem, to  deduce  such  consequences  as  the  premises 
will  fairly  authorize.  We  can  decide,  whether  it  is 
more  rational  to  attribute,  as  did  the  Jews,  the  miracles 
wrought  by  the  Lord  Jesus  and  by  the  Apostles  in  his 
name  to  Beelzebub  and  the  influence  of  Demons,  or  to 
the  mighty  power  of  God  attesting  the  mission  of  his 
Son  and  the  veracity  of  his  servants.  And  here  let  it 
be  distinctly  noticed,  that  the  Sacred  Historians,  who 
appear  to  record,  with  singular  candour  and  impartiality, 
every  objection  made  to  the  conduct  of  Jesus  and  his 
Apostles,  do  not  give  the  least  intimation,  that  any  of 
the  Jews  denied  the  miiacles  recorded  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament. Nor  is  there  any  suggestion  of  the  kind  to  be 
found  in  the  writings  of  either  Jews  or  Gentiles  for 
many  centuries  after  the  Christian  era.  The  existence 
of  miiacles  at  the  origin  of  Christianity  stands  uncon- 
troverted  in  the  records  and  traditions  of  that  period. 
Indeed  so  prevalent  was  the  belief,  that  the  woiiderfiil 
works  ascribed  to  our  Lord  and  his  Apostles  were  facts, 
that  the  early  enemies  of  the  Christian  faith,  admitting 
the  reality  of  the  miracles,  attempted  to  assign  other 
causes  than  the  interposition  of  Almighty  God.  This 
was  the  ground  assumed  by  Celsus  and  Porphyry  and 
other  writers  both  Jews  and  Gentiles. 


DISC.  VIII.  OF  CHRIST.  303 

Neither  the  Jewish  Rulers,  nor  tlie  people  ever  denied 
the  facts  which  we  allege  as  proofs  of  the  divine  mission 
and  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ ;  They  indeed  denied 
the  consequences  Avhich  we  deduce  from  these  facts. 
But  so  far  is  the  denial  of  the  Jews,  that  Jesus  of  Na- 
zareth was  the  Messiah,  from  diminishing  the  evidence, 
that  miracles  were  wrought,  that  this  single  circum- 
stance removes  all  ground  of  suspecting  deception  or 
fiction.  Such  was  the  hatred  of  a  majority  of  the 
Jewish  nation,  to  the  name  of  Jesus,  that  they  hesi- 
tated to  use  no  means  likely  to  crush  the  rising  cause. 
Now  if  there  were  deception  it  w^as  an  easier  as  well  as 
a  more  effectual  method  to  check  the  delusion,  by  de- 
tecting and  exposing  the  fallacy  than  by  assigning 
causes  manifestly  inadequate.  The  power  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  Rulers ;  and  a  majority  of  the  people  were 
on  their  side  ;  so  that  nothing  could  be  easier  than  to 
detect  and  expose  the  imposture,  if  indeed  imposture 
existed.  The  plain  inference  to  be  deduced  from  the 
fact  that  the  enemies  of  Jesus  did  not  make  the 
attempt,  is,  that  the  miracles  performed  were  so  ob\dous, 
so  generally  known  and  beheved,  that  an  effort  to  prove 
them  fallacious  would  have  been  utterly  useless. 

If  the  books  of  the  New  Testament  were  fictitious, 
and  stated,  as  facts,  things  which  had  no  existence, 
why  did  not  cotemporary  waiters  contradict  their  state- 
ments ? — Why  did  not  tradition  at  least  hand  down  a 
denial  of  the  miracles  to  the  age  of  Celsus  the  Epi- 
curean^ and  Trypho  the   Jew,  both  of  whom  wrote 


304  THE  RESURRECTION  UISC.  VIII. 

against  the  Christian  faith  not  more  than  eighty  years 
after  the  books  of  the  New  Testament  were  pubHshed  1 
Neither  of  these  authors  pretend  to  deny  the  miracles 
of  our  Lord  and  his  Apostles.  Now  let  it  be  recollected, 
that  the  testimony  which  we  allege  God  gave  to  the 
resurrection  of  Christ,  in  enabling  the  Apostles  to  per- 
form miracles  in  his  name,  was  given  under  the  eye  of 
watchful,  jealous  and  powerful  enemies,  of  men  whose 
reputation,  worldly  interests  and  religious  prejudices 
Avere  assailed  by  every  fact  favourable  to  the  Christian 
cause  ;  and  it  will  be  seen  that  we  have  all  the  vigilance 
of  jealousy  and  self-interest  and  religious  zeal  to  guard 
us  against  imposition.  In  this  case  the  Jewish  Rulers 
without  intending  it  performed  essential  service  to  the 
Christian  cause.  Their  unrelenting  persecution  gave 
the  witnesses  of  the  resurrection  an  opportunity  of 
proving,  in  the  most  unequivocal  manner,  their  honest 
belief  of  the  fact,  which  they  so  constantly  affirmed. 
They  gave  to  distant  ages  a  guarantee,  that,  if  practi- 
cable, they  Avould  have  denied  the  miracles  performed 
in  the  name  of  Jesus. 

Let  us  reverse  the  case,  and  suppose,  what  some 
allege  would  be  a  confirmation  of  the  Christian  faith, 
that  the  Jewish  Rulers  convinced  by  the  testimony  ol 
the  Apostles  and  the  events  of  the  day  of  Pentecost 
had  acknowledged  Jesus  as  the  Messiah  promised  to 
their  Fathers — that  Annas  and  Caiaphas  had  laid 
aside  their  pontifical  robes  and  had  gone  forth  as  he 
raids  of  the  cross — that  the  members  of  the  Sanhedrim 


DISC.  Vlir.  OF  ClIRIS'J'.  H05 

had  confessed  their  guilt,  and  sought  pardon  through 
the  blood  shed  on  Calvary — that  the  inhabitants  of 
Jerusalem  and  of  Judea  generally  had  become  converts 
to  the  Christian  faith — in  such  a  state  of  things,  would 
the  resurrection  of  Jesus  have  been  more  credible  than 
it  now  is  ? — Would  the  sagacious  Greeks  and  haughty 
Romans  have  been  more  likely  to  submit  to  the  Chris- 
tian faith  than  when  it  was  preached  by  fishermen  of 
Galilee  ? — Would  there  not,  to  say  the  least,  have  been 
a  plausible  pretext  for  alleging,  that  the  whole  affair 
was  a  political  finesse  ? — that  the  Jews  unable  to  bring 
other  nations  to  beheve  the  divine  legation  of  Moses 
had  hatched  a  new  scheme  ;  and  connecting  the  death 
and  resurrection  of  Jesus  with  their  ancient  prophecies 
were  attempting  to  throw  off  the  Roman  yoke  and  to 
become  masters  of  the  world  by  a  religious  stratagem  ? 
— Suppose  the  Jews  had  generally  acknowledged  the 
Messiah  in  the  person  of  Jesus,  what  security  could  we 
have  had  that  there  was  no  concert  and  contrivance '! 
Who  would  have  put  the  honesty  and  sincerity  of  the 
witnesses  of  the  resurrection  to  the  test  ? — Who  would 
ha^e  examined,  with  eager  and  jealous  eyes,  the  mira- 
cles said  to  have  been  wrought  ? — Who,  in  authority, 
would  have  said,  that  indeed  a  notable  miracle  has 
been  done  by  these  men,  is  manifest  to  all  them  that 
dwell  in  Jerusalem,  and  ive  cannot  deny  it ;  but  that 
it  spread  no  further  among  the  people,  let  us  straitly 
threaten  them  that  they  speak  henceforth  to  no  man 
in  this  name  ?■ 

39 


'jOO  the  resurrection  disc.  vm. 

If  the  Jewish  Rulers  did  not  deny  that  miracles 
were  wrought  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  it  is  all  we  have 
any  reason  to  expect  from  avowed  enemies.  We  do 
not  want  their  acknowledgment  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
was  the  Messiah.  A  Court  of  Justice  wants  a  witness 
to  state  facts — to  tell  what  he  has  seen  and  heard — and 
not  to  give  the  inferences  which  he  may  draw  from  the 
facts,  presented  to  his  observation.  If  the  Jewish 
Rulers,  by  scourging  and  imprisonment  and  threats, 
could  not  deter  the  Apostles  from  publishing  the  resur- 
rection of  their  Master, — if  they  could  not  deny  that  a 
notable  miracle  had  been  done  in  the  case  of  the  lame 
man,  we  have  virtually  the  testimony  of  interested  and 
inveterate  enemies  to  facts  sufficient  to  substantiate  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus.  That  the  Jews  were  not  con- 
vinced of  the  divinity  of  our  Lord  is  nothing  to  the 
purpose.  Give  us  the  facts  and  we  are  competent  to 
deduce  our  own  inference. 

Take  a  case  in  many  respects  analogous.  The 
visible  creation,  we  have  reason  to  beheve,  has  always 
exhibited  the  same  proofs  of  the  existence  and  perfec- 
tions of  an  infinitely  wise  and  almighty  Architect. 
The  sun,  moon  and  stars,  which  we  behold,  shone 
with  the  same  splendour  on  the  nations  that  preceded 
us.  The  same  order,  and  harmony,  and  variety,  and 
beauty,  and  adaptation  of  means  to  ends,  were  dis- 
played to  the  view  of  mankind  in  every  age ;  and  yet 
comparatively  few  nations  on  whom  the  light  of  reve- 
lation had  not  shone,  believed  in  the  existence  of  an 


DISC,  VIII.  OP  CHRIST.  HOT 

eternal,  almighty  and  infinitely  wise  God.  Now  if 
other  nations  were  polytheists — if  their  fruitful  imagi- 
nations peopled  every  part  of  the  universe  with  a  distinct 
divinity,  shall  we  resist  the  evidence  presented  in  the  vi- 
sible creation,  that  there  is  only  one  living  and  true  God? 
— If  then  God  has  given  testimony  to  the  resurrection 
of  Jesus  equally  clear  and  decisive,  shall  we  reject  it ;  be- 
cause the  Jews  blinded  by  prejudice  did  not  perceive,  or 
if  they  perceived,  did  not  through  obstinacy  admit  the 
only  legitimate  consequence  that  can  follow  fiom  the 
premises,  viz.  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  the  Son  of  God 
and  the  Saviour  of  the  world ') 

The  testimony  of  the  Apostles  is  viewed  by  many 
with  jealousy  and  suspicion  ;  because  they  were  Chris- 
tians.— But  were  not  these  men  originally  Jews,  and 
had  they  not  the  same  prejudices  and  attachment  to 
the  rehgion  of  their  ancestors,  that  belonged  to  their 
countrymen  to  be  overcome  ? — To  what  can  we  attri- 
bute the  change  which  took  place  in  their  views  and 
feehngs,  except  to  the  evidence  of  truth  which  shone  so 
brightly  that  they  could  not  resist  ? — To  what  known 
principle  of  human  nature  can  we  trace  their  conduct  ? 
— It  is  admitted  that  men  have  invented  falsehoods  and 
imposed  on  the  creduhty  of  the  world ;  but  in  such 
cases  it  is  always  with  a  view  to  gain  some  worldly 
advantage.  Wliat  earthly  prospects  could  have  sus- 
tained these  men,  under  the  disgrace  and  sufferings 
which  met  them  at  the  commencement,  and  increased 
as  thev  advanced  to  the  close  of  their  career  ? 


^>0S  TIIK  RESURRECTION  DISC.  VIIF. 

AVe  are  told  that  tlie  annals  of  other  nations  abound 
with  prodigies  said  to  have  been  performed  on  various 
occasions. — Show  us  that  they  are  as  well  attested  as 
the  miracles  recorded  in  the  gospels  and  in  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles — Show  us  that  they  were  performed  pub- 
licly, and  in  the  presence  of  pow^erful  enemies,  whose 
reputation  and  interest  were  deeply  concerned  in  the 
issue — Show  us  that  the  obvious  tendency  of  these 
prodigies  was  to  overturn  the  religion  of  the  country — 
to  deprive  the  Priests  of  their  livings,  and  the  Rulers  of 
their  authority — and  that  these  men  could  not  deny 
their  reality,  and  then  we  will  admit  the  force  of  the 
objection. — But  we  challenge  the  learning  of  the  world 
(o  produce  one  such  example.  The  prodigies  reported 
by  Livy  and  Tacitus,  it  is  well  known,  were  intended 
to  confirm  the  authority  of  the  civil  magistrate,  to  in- 
crease the  reputation  and  emoluments  of  the  Priests. 
and  to  flatter  the  prevailing  superstitions  of  the  people. 
No  one  hazarded  his  reputation  or  fortune  or  life  ui 
attesting  these  miracles.  The  politician  thought  them 
useful  to  the  state,  the  Priest  received  veneration  and 
gifts  in  consequence  of  the  report,  and  the  common 
people  were  gratified  with  the  wonders  attributed  to  the 
objects  of  their  worship.  Not  so,  with  the  miracles  of 
the  New  Testament.  They  were  in  direct  opposition 
to  the  prejudices  of  the  people  and  the  interests  of  the 
Priests.  We  maintain  then,  that  the  unbelief  of  a  large 
portion  of  the  Jews  is  a  strong  confirmation  of  the 
renlifv  of  the  miracles  Avrousrht  in  attestation  of  the 


DISC.  VI  IT.  (.F  riTRIST.  309 

resurrection  of  our  Lord.  It  assures  us  that  there  was 
?.nd  could  be  no  contrivance  and  concert  to  deceive. 
Thus  in  the  words  of  a  sacred  writer  the  fall  of  the 
Jews  ivas  the  riches  of  the  world  and  the  diminish- 
ing  of  them  the  riches  of  the  gentiles.  Their  unbe- 
lief makes  the  gospel  more  credible  to  us  than  if  they 
had  admitted  Jesus  to  be  the  Messiah  promised  to  their 
Fathers. 

We  are  aware,  that  in  order  to  complete  our  argu- 
ment, it  would  be  necessary  to  prove  that  the  docu- 
ments containing  the  account  of  the  miracles  confirm- 
ing the  resurrection  of  Christ  are  genuine  and  authen- 
tic. But  to  enter  on  a  discussion  so  extensive  would 
not  comport  with  the  hmits  assigned  to  this  discourse. 
And  the  subject  has  been  so  fully  examined  and  the 
truth  so  satisfactorily  ascertained  that  no  one  acquainted 
with  the  result  of  the  examination  can  doubt  the  fact — 
that  the  books  of  the  New  Testament  were  written  by 
the  persons  whose  names  they  bear,  and  were  pub- 
lished to  the  world  in  the  age  of  the  Apostles,  when 
hundieds  interested  in  contradicting  the  statements, 
were  still  hving.  And  as  no  denial  of  the  miracles 
attributed  to  the  Apostles  in  the  sacred  records,  is  to  be 
found  in  the  writings  of  either  Jews  or  gentiles,  we  are 
authorized  to  say,  the  reality  of  these  miracles  was  never 
called  in  question  in  the  first  ages  of  the  Christian 
Church. 

But  independently  of  the  written  testimony  of  the 
sacred  historians  we  think  we  are  authorized  to  say 
from  the  nature  of  the  case,  that  the  resurrection  of 


olU  THE  RESURRECTION  DISC.  VI II 

Christ  must  have  been  published  at  the  very  origin  of 
Christianity.  No  society  civil  or  ecclesiastic  can 
exist  without  some  principles  of  union — some  facts  or 
doctrines,  believed  by  the  society,  forming  the  basis  of 
union.  From  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  the  resur- 
rection of  Jesus  must  have  been  one  of  these  facts  or 
doctrines.  For,  what  motive  could  the  first  preachers 
of  the  gospel  have  presented  to  unbelievers  to  attach 
themselves  to  a  rehgion  whose  author  had  been  cruci- 
fied and  whose  body  was  still  moiddering  in  the  grave  ? 
Omitting  the  resurrection  and  ascension,  what  could 
have  effaced  the  ignominy  of  the  cross  ?  Who  would 
have  built  his  future  hopes  on  the  promise  of  one  over 
whom  death  held  absolute  dominion  ?  What  reason 
could  be  assigned,  why  any  one  should  espouse  a  cause 
every  where  spoken  against,  and  attach  himself  to  a 
society  securing  no  worldly  interest,  and  gratifying  no 
earthly  passion  ?  If  then  from  the  very  nature  of  the 
case,  as  well  as  from  the  declarations  of  the  sacred 
writers,  the  resurrection  of  Christ  was  preached  in  the 
very  first  attempts  to  propagate  the  Christian  faith : 
the  enemies  of  Jesus  had  an  opportunity  of  examining 
the  evidence  on  which  this  fundamental  fact  rested. 

In  his  first  epistle  to  the  Corinthians  the  Apostle 
Paul  boldly  affirms,  that  Jesus  was  seen,  after  his  resur- 
rection, by  more  than  five  hundred  brethren  at  one 
time ;  of  whom  a  great  part  were  living  Avhen  he  wrote. 
An  appeal  of  this  kind,  had  not  the  fact  been  so,  must 
liave  blasted  his  reputation,  and  ruined  his  cause.     The 


DISC.  Vm.  OF  CHRIST.  31i 

same  Apostle  also,  in  all  his  epistles,  appeals  to  the 
miracles,  which  he  and  others  performed  in  the  name 
of  Jesus.  If  no  such  thing  had  occurred,  would  not 
his  converts  held  by  no  earthly  tie,  on  hearing  declara- 
tions which  they  knew  to  be  false,  have  abandoned  the 
cause  and  published  him  to  the  world  as  an  impostor  ? 
No  such  thing  ever  occurred.  Hundreds  and  thou- 
sands, of  all  ages  and  sexes  suffered  imprisonment  and 
torture  and  death,  and  no  denial  of  the  miracles  said 
to  have  been  performed  in  confirmation  of  the  resur- 
rection of  Christ  ever  escaped  from  their  lips. 

On  what  known  principle  of  human  nature  can  we 
account  for  this  singular  unanimity — this  general  testi- 
mony, that  miracles  were  wrought  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  ? 

We  are  aware  that  under  the  influence  of  enthusiasm 
men  have  persuaded  themselves  that  they  had  mental 
visions,  and  communications  with  heaven,  and  that 
they  would  have  suffered  death  rather  than  renounce 
this  persuasion.  But  what  enthusiasm  ever  led  men 
to  imagine  they  could  speak  foreign  languages,  and 
especially,  their  hearers  to  suppose  they  understood  per- 
fectly what  was  said?  What  enthusiasm  ever  de- 
prived men  of  the  use  of  their  bodily  senses  ?  If  such 
a  case  were  possible,  what  fact  could  be  substantiated 
in  a  court  of  justice?  Or  if  one  man  under  the 
influence  of  religious  phrensy  might  be  deceived,  how 
could  so  jnany,  respecting  the  same  facts  at  the  same 


312  riJE  RESURRECTION  DISC.  Vlli. 

time?  And  why  were  the  enemies  as  well  as  the 
fiiends  of  the  cause  seized  with  the  same  delusion ? 

Again,  the  existence  of  miracles,  which  we  regard  as 
the  testimony  of  God  to  the  resurrection  of  Christ  may 
be  fairly  inferred,  from  the  success  which  attended  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel  in  the  Apostolic  age. 

On  this  issue,  Gamaliel  one  of  the  wisest  and  most 
learned  members  of  the  Jewish  Sanhedrim  advised  his 
Ijrethren  to  rest  their  cause.  If  said  he,  this  counsel 
or  this  work  be  of  men  it  ivill  come  to  nought :  but 
if  it  be  of  God  ye  cannot  overthroio  it.  If  this  sen- 
timent be  conect,  God  has  most  clearly  and  unequivo- 
cally expressed  his  approbation  of  the  Christian  cause. 
It  is  a  fact  as  well  authenticated  as  any  recorded  in  his- 
tory that  daring  the  age  of  the  Apostles,  Christianity 
was  carried  to  almost  every  province  of  the  Roman 
empire.  This  is  the  testimony  not  only  of  the  early 
Christian  Fathers,  but  also  of  the  most  reputable  Ro- 
man historians. 

Tacitus  speaking  of  the  unparalleled  cruelties,  which 
Nero  the  Roman  Emperor  inflicted  on  Christians  at 
Rome,  about  thirty  years  after  the  crucifixion,  asserts 
that  "  a  vast  multitude"  perished  on  that  occasion. 
Now  if  in  the  Capital  of  the  Roman  empire  so  remote 
from  Judea,  where  the  religion  of  Christ  originated, 
there  was  at  this  early  period  "  a  vast  multitude"  of 
Christians,  what  must  have  been  their  number  in  Ju- 
dea, in  Asia  Minor,  in  Macedonia,  in  Greece,  and  in 
other  places,  where  the  Apostles  chiefly  laboured,  and 


D1«C.    V'lli.  UF  CHRIST.  313 

where  according  to  the  evangehc  history  their  laboiu>i 
were  crowned  with  the  most  abundant  success  ? 

Again  about  sixty-seven  years  after  the  ascension  the 
younger  Phny  informed  Trajan  the  Emperor,  that  in 
Bythinia,  a  Roman  province  on  the  borders  of  the 
Euxine  sea,  Christians  were  so  exceedingly  numerous, 
that  the  heathen  temples  were  almost  deserted — the 
sacred  rites  neglected — victims  could  not  be  sold^ — that 
persons  of  all  ages,  of  every  rank,  and  of  both  sexes 
espoused  the  cause :  and  "  the  superstitious  contagion," 
as  he  is  pleased  to  call  Christianity,  had  spread  not 
only  in  the  cities  but  also  in  the  villages  and  country. 
(Epis.  97.  10  Book.)  We  refer  to  these  authors,  be- 
cause being  enemies  to  the  cause,  they  cannot  be  sus- 
pected of  exaggerating  the  number  of  professed  Chris- 
tians. 

The  Christian  Fathers,  whose  testimony  on  this 
point  is  worthy  of  full  credit,  assure  us  that  in  the  first 
century  the  gospel  reached  regions  far  beyond  the  limits 
of  the  Roman  empire.  The  fact  that  within  three 
hundred  years  after  the  death  of  Christ,  the  Roman 
empire  under  Constantine  became  at  least  nominally 
Christian,  is  an  irresistible  proof  of  the  rapid  and  ex- 
tensive progress  of  Christian  principles.  Emperors  and 
Princes  and  Statesmen  of  every  name,  whatever  be 
their  private  convictions,  seldom  enter  on  the  hazardous 
project  of  estabUshing  a  new  religion,  imless  confident 
40 


314  THE  RESURRECTION  DISC.  VIll. 

that  the  measure  will  be  sustained  by  a  majority  of 
their  subjects. 

Here  we  see  a  grand  moral  revolution  effected.  The 
religion  of  the  civilized  world  changed.  The  question 
before  us  is  by  what  means  was  this  change  effected  ? 
If  we  admit  the  principles  of  the  New  Testament — 
that  Jesus  had  risen  from  the  dead  and  ascended  to 
heaven — that  he  sent  forth  his  Apostles  armed  not  with 
swords  and  spears,  but  with  the  gift  of  tongues,  with 
the  power  of  giving  sight  to  the  blind,  hearing  to  the 
deaf,  and  life  to  the  dead — that  he  inspired  them  with 
more  than  human  courage  to  brave  the  most  appalling 
dangers — admit  these  facts  and  we  have  a  cause  ade- 
quate to  produce  the  grand  result. 

But  reverse  the  case — suppose  all  this  to  be  a  fiction 
^that  the  whole  result  was  effected  without  the  inter- 
position of  the  Ahiiighty,  and  where  will  you  find  an 
adequate  cause?  Did  a  few  illiterate  men  incapa- 
ble of  speaking  the  languages  of  the  nations  to 
whom  they  preached,  persuade  them  to  renounce  the 
religion  of  their  ancestors,  and  to  attach  themselves 
to  a  cause  connected  with  no  earthly  advantage,,  and 
insuring  disgrace  and  poverty  and  persecution  ?  What 
motives  could  have  actuated  the  projectors  of  this  en- 
terprise ?  Not  ease  nor  wealth  nor  fame.  Although 
the  names  of  the  Apostles  are  now  held  in  deserved 
veneration,  in  their  day,  it  was  impossible  by  human 
foresight  to  anticipate  such  a  result. 


DISC.   VIU.  OP  CHRIST.  315 

Suppose  they  were  actuated  by  some  unknowTi  and 
unaccountable  motive,  how  did  they  persuade  others  to 
espouse  theii-  cause?  The  opposition  of  the  Jews 
arising  from  causes  sufficiently  obvious,  will  readily  be 
admitted.  The  difficulty  of  converting  the  Heathen 
by  human  means  was  equally  arduous.  The  religion 
of  the  gospel  was  exclusive.  It  admitted  of  no  alliance 
with  the  idolatries  of  Greece  and  Rome.  It  waged  an  ex- 
terminating war  against  the  religious  rites  and  ceremo- 
nies of  every  nation  ;  so  that  the  primitive  Christians 
were  every  where  persecuted  as  Atheists.  When  we 
consider  that  philosophers  and  statesmen  regarded 
every  religion,  making  no  exclusive  claims,  equally  use- 
fid  to  the  state — that  the  worldly  interests  as  well  as  the 
hereditary  prejudices  of  the  common  people  were  inter- 
woven with  the  prevailing  superstition,  it  is  not  strange 
that  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  met  with  opposition. 
How  many  artists  and  mechanics  and  labourers  ob- 
tained their  subsistence  in  erecting  and  adorning  the 
magnificent  temples  dedicated  to  the  numerous  Gods 
of  Greece  and  Rome  !  The  tumult  raised  at  Ephesus 
by  Demetrius  and  the  Craftsmen,  who  made  silver 
shrines  for  Diana,  is  only  a  specimen  of  the  ease  with 
which  men  interested  in  maintaining  the  prevailing 
superstition  could  rouse  the  populace  against  the 
preachers  of  the  gospel.  But  why  mention  the  causes 
which  created  opposition?  The  fact  is  notorious. 
Besides  the  violence  of    an   infuriated  populace,  the 


:^16  THK  RESIRRECTIOX  DISC.  VIII. 

infiint  Chuicli  passed  tluoiigli  ten  general  persecutions, 
authorized  by  the  Roman  emperors,  in  which  hundreds 
and  thousands  of  all  ages  and  ranks  and  sexes  suf- 
fered every  conceivable  torture. 

Now  we  ask,  where  in  the  history  of  the  world  is  a 
parallel  to  the  success  of  the  gospel  in  the  first  ages,  to 
be  found  J  When  and  where  did  any  cause,  supported 
by  human  means  so  feeble,  against  opposition  so  power- 
ful, ever  succeed  ?  The  religion  of  Mohammed,  it  is 
true,  has  prevailed  for  a  long  period  in  an  extensive 
region.  But  in  what  respects  does  the  success  of  that 
impostor  difler  from  the  conquests  of  other  mUitary 
chieftains  ?  Neither  the  work  to  be  accomplished,  nor 
the  obstacles  to  be  overcome,  nor  the  means  employed 
have  any  analogy  to  the  Christian  cause.  The  one 
employed  force,  the  other  persuasion  ;  the  one  enlisted 
in  its  favour,  the  strongest  and  most  active  principles  of 
human  nature,  the  other  conquered  by  patience  and 
meekness  and  love ;  the  one  succeeded  by  the  policy 
and  force  of  man,  the  other  by  the  wisdom  and  power 
of  God. 

In  order  that  it  may  be  seen,  that  the  success  of  the 
gospel  depends  on  divine  power,  God  has  uniformly 
frowned  on  all  attempts  to  propagate  Christian  princi- 
ples, by  human  pohcy  and  physical  force.  By  such 
means  the  name  of  Christianity  may  be  extended,  but 
the  soul  of  piety  departs  and  leaves  an  external  form, 
animated  by  the  same  spirit  which  governs  political 


1)1  .SC.   VIII.  OF  CHRIST.  317 

4;ommunities.  And  here  we  cannot  omit  to  remark, 
that  the  success,  which  in  the  present  day,  attends 
Christian  missions,  in  our  own  and  in  foreign  lands, 
conducted  in  the  manner  and  spirit  of  the  Apostles,  is 
a  proof  that  God  still  bears  testimony  to  the  resurrec- 
tion and  ascension  of  our  Lord — and  encourages  us  to 
hope  that  by  a  continuance  and  increase  of  the  same 
kind  of  effort,  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  become 
the  kingdom  of  the  Lord  and  his  Christ. 

Finally  in  the  tendency  of  the  gospel  to  meliorate  the 
condition  of  man  in  this  life — to  elevate  his  intellectual 
and  moral  character — to  raise  him  from  the  degradation 
of  sensual  and  malignant  passions,  we  have  the  testi- 
mony of  God  to  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord.  It  is 
freely  admitted  that  in  Christian  lands  there  is  much 
»rime  and  much  wretchedness  ;  because  the  influence 
of  the  gospel  is  only  partially  felt.  But  compare  the 
most  favoured  portions  of  the  globe  under  any  other 
system,  with  those  nominally  Christian ;  and  how 
obvious  and  vast  is  the  contrast ! — And  this  superiority 
of  Christian  nations  is  precisely  in  proportion  to  the 
degree  in  which  the  belief  and  practice  of  Christian 
principles  prevail.  Compare  the  present  physical, 
intellectual,  and  moral  condition  of  the  Islands  in  the 
Pacific,  with  what  they  were  twenty  years  ago  and 
you  see  the  genuine  fruits  of  Christianity  and  of 
Paganism.  We  have  heard  much  of  the  mild  and 
tolerant  religion  of  nature  and  even  of  Atheism.     Look 


318  THE  RESURRECTION  DISC.  VIII. 

at  France  during  the  reign  of  infidelity  and  from  the 
enormities  of  that  terrific  period  you  may  learn  the 
value  of  the  gospel. 

In  the  existence  of  the  pure  and  holy  principles  of 
Christianity  amidst  the  pollution  of  a  depraved  world, 
and  in  the  conversion  of  sinners  from  the  error  of  theii* 
ways,  we  have  a  moral  phenomenon  not  easily  ex- 
plained, on  the  supposition  that  Jesus  has  not  risen. 
Whence  do  these  effects  originate — fiom  heaven  or 
from  hell — from  a  God  of  truth  and  benevolence,  or 
from  a  spirit  of  fraud  and  imposture  ? — Would  it  not 
be  strange,  if  an  impious  imposture,  appealing  to  God 
as  its  Author  and  alleging  his  testimony  as  evidence  of 
its  divine  origin,  had  done  more  to  mitigate  the  mise- 
ries of  human  fife — to  elevate  moral  character to 

create  and  cherish  noble  and  benevolent  feelings,  than 
all  the  philosophy  of  sages,  and  we  may  add,  all  the 
demonstrations  of  infinite  wisdom  and  almighty  power 
in  the  visible  creation  ?— What,  we  ask,  gives  the  gos- 
pel this  moral  efficacy  ?  Not  merely  the  purity  and 
sublimity  of  its  moral  precepts— many  of  them  were 
known  to  the  ancient  sages ;  but  in  their  hands  these 
precepts  had  no  such  efficacy ;  because  they  were  en- 
forced by  no  adequate  sanction,  and  accompanied  by  no 
demonstrations  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  resurrection 
of  Jesus  Christ  is  a  demonstration  of  the  truth  of  his 
doctrines — a  pledge  of  the  resurrection  of  the  human 


DISC.  VIII.  OF  CHRIST.  319 

body  and  an  assurance  to  all  men  of  a  judgment  to 
come. 

If  then  witnesses  as  competent  as  can  be  selected 
have  attested  the  resurrection  and  ascension  of  our 
Lord,  and  have  given  the  strongest  proof  of  their  sin- 
cerity, if  God  has  confirmed  the  testimony  of  his  ser- 
vants by  the  miraculous  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  by 
the  success  and  moral  influence  which  have  attended 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  why  should  we  not  believe 
that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  the  Son  of  God  and  the  Sa- 
viour of  the  world  ?  Of  one  thing  we  feel  confident,  that 
we  have  as  strong  historical  and  moral  evidence  of  the 
resurrection  of  our  Lord  as  of  any  other  fact  equally 
remote — and  if  any  one  beheve  not  the  testimony  of 
the  Apostles  sealed  with  their  blood,  and  confirmed  by 
the  demonstrations  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  neither  would 
he  be  convinced  by  any  other  evidence. 

1.  In  conclusion  we  remark,  that  between  the  nu- 
merous proofs  which  evince  that  our  most  holy  religion 
is  from  heaven,  there  is  a  connexion  so  intimate,  that 
each  separate  argument  receives  support  and  confirma- 
tion from  every  other  consideration  tending  to  establish 
the  same  general  proposition.  In  a  great  and  magni- 
ficent edifice  each  wall  and  column  and  arch  may  be 
firm  and  capable  of  sustaining  itself  by  its  own  sepa- 
rate and  independent  strength  ;  but  when  all  the  parts 
are  connected  together  and  united  under  one  common 
roof  the  whole  becomes  much  more  secure  and  durable. 


32(1  IHE  RESURRECTION  DISC.  VIII. 

Thus  the  resuirectioii  of  our  Lord  fully  sustained,  as 
we  beUeve,  by  its  own  independent  evidence,  is  con- 
firmed by  numerous  collateral  circumstances  not  in- 
cluded in  the  view  which  we  have  taken.  And  if  this 
all  important  question  could  be  decided  by  enlightened 
and  unbiassed  reason,  we  would  have  no  fears  respect- 
ing the  issue.  But  such  a  decision  in  many  cases  is  not 
to  be  expected.  It  is  a  question  in  which  every  indi- 
vidual has  an  interest  of  vast  and  incalculable  magni- 
tude. And  on  no  other  subject  is  the  moral  state  of  the 
heart  so  hkely  to  exert  a  controlling  influence.  If 
Jesus  has  risen,  then  he  shall  judge  the  world  and  ren- 
der to  every  man  according  to  his  works.  And  in 
assenting  to  the  reality  of  the  resurrection,  those  who 
disobey  the  gospel,  virtually  recognize  the  certainty  of 
their  own  condemnation.  To  be  advancing  to  the 
judgment  seat  under  an  anticipation  of  approaching 
wrath  is  of  all  states  of  mind  the  most  wretched  and 
intolerable.  A  continual  warfare  between  reason  and 
passion,  between  criminal  indulgence  and  an  appre- 
hension of  future  woe  is  a  condition  not  easily  endured. 
And  if  any  one  be  so  enslaved  by  his  passions,  so  op- 
posed in  his  feehngs  to  the  law  of  God,  that  he  has  no 
intention  or  wish  to  change  his  comse  of  life,  he  is 
under  a  necessity  in  self  defence  to  close  his  ears 
against  every  consideration  calculated  to  alarm  his 
fears.  Motives  precisely  similar  to  those  which  ope- 
rated on  the  Jewish  Rulers,  mav  induce  him  to  resist 


DISC.   Mil.  OF  CHRIST.  3^1 

the  clearest  and  most  refulgent  evidence,  that  Jesus  is 
the  Son  of  God  and  the  Judge  of  the  world.  And  it  is 
surely  honourable  to  Christianity,  that  a  bad  life  is  the 
gieatest  obstacle  to  the  belief  of  its  doctrines,  and  a  good 
hfe  the  best  preparation  for  the  reception  of  the  testi- 
mony which  God  has  given  respecting  his  Son — 7/' 
any  man,  said  our  Lord,  will  do  the  will  of  him  that 
sent  me,  lie  shall  know  of  the  doctrine,  whether  it  he 
of  God.  If  the  evidence  of  the  resurrection  of  our 
Lord  be  sufficient  to  satisfy  a  mind  desirous  to  know 
and  willing  to  believe  the  truth,  it  is  all  we  can  rea- 
sonably expect.  In  this  case  no  honest  man  wiUing  to 
do  his  duty,  can  fall  into  a  fatal  error.  And  if  the  evi- 
dence were  increased  an  hundredfold,  it  could  not  profit 
men  determined  to  embrace  no  opinions  inconsistent 
with  an  unholy  hfe. 

2.  If  Jesus  Christ  rose  from  the  dead,  the  truth  of 
the  doctrines  which  he  taught,  and  the  reality  of  the 
character  which  he  claimed  as  the  Son  of  God  and  the 
Judge  of  the  world,  are  fully  established.  It  cannot 
for  a  moment  be  admitted,  that  a  God  of  truth  would 
sanction  the  pretensions  of  an  impostor  by  raising  him 
from  the  dead  according  to  his  own  prediction,  and  by 
confirming,  in  the  most  unequivocal  manner,  the  testi- 
mony of  the  witnesses  Avho  announced  this  fact.  In  a 
word  the  resurrection  of  Christ  is  a  confirmation  of  the 
truth  of  the  whole  Christian  system — It  is  so  connected 
with  other  facts  and  doctrines  recorded  in  the  Bible, 
41 


322  THK  RESURRKCTION  DISC.  Vlll. 

that  the  establishment  of  this  single  point  carries  with 
it  the  certainty  of  other  important  truths,  taught  in  the 
same  sacred  records.  If  Jesus  Christ  rose  from  the 
dead,  the  doctrines  taught  by  the  Apostles,  as  well  as 
those  proceeding  from  the  lips  of  our  Lord  himself,  are 
true.  For  if  the  testimony  of  the  Apostles  confirmed 
by  the  demonstrations  of  the  Holy  Ghost  be  worthy  of 
belief,  no  sufficient  reason  can  be  assigned  why  they 
ought  not  to  be  believed,  when  they  profess  to  deliver 
doctrines  received  from  their  Lord  and  Master,  or  sug- 
gested by  the  Spirit  of  truth  which  He  promised — To 
admit  that  their  testimony  in  the  one  case  is  tnie,  and 
to  aflftrra  that  in  the  other  they  spoke  and  wrote  as 
fallible  men  under  the  influence  of  ignorance  and  pre- 
judice, is  to  confound  all  moral  distinctions,  and  to  leave 
us  without  any  means  of  distinguishing  truth  from 
falsehood — Why,  for  example,  should  we  beheve  the 
Apostle  John  when  he  assures  us,  that  Jesus  rose  from 
the  dead,  and  not  yield  the  same  credence  when  he  tells 
lis  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins  ? 
As  the  miraculous  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost  attended  the 
preaching  of  the  Apostles,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose, 
that  when  they  wrote  to  the  same  persons  to  whom  the 
proofs  of  their  Apostleship  had  been  exhibited,  they 
would  be  restrained  from  gross  and  fatal  error. 

When  they  professed  to  be  under  the  guidance  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  we  know  not  why  they  should  not  be 
btlievtid.     I'he  written  communications  of  an  ambas- 


DISC.   VIII. 


OP  CHRIST.  :^23 


sador,  who  has  exhibited  his  credentials  to  a  foreign 
Court  are  received  as  the  communications  of  the  go- 
vernment, which  he  represents,  until  official  notice  is 
given,  that  he  has  departed  from  his  instructions — 
When  was  the  power  of  working  miracles,  the  seal  of 
their  commission,  withdrawn  from  the  Apostles  ? — We 
are  bound  then  to  receive  the  doctrines  which  the  Apos- 
tles professed  to  teach  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  as  the  will  of  God  duly  authenticated. 

3.  Finally  in  the  resurrection  of  Christ  we  have  a 
practical  demonstration  of  the  resurrection  of  the  human 
body.  The  same  power  which  raised  Jesus  from  the 
dead  is  able  also  to  collect  and  re-organize  our  scattered 
dust — The  same  truth,  which  foretold  the  resurrection 
of  om-  Lord,  is  also  pledged  for  the  fulfilment  of  the 
declaration — that  all  who  are  in  the  graves  shall  hear 
the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  shall  come  forth : 
They  that  have  done  good  unto  the  resurrection  of 
life,  and  they  that  have  done  evil  unto  the  resiirrer- 
tion  of  damnation. 


TO  THE  FRIENDS  OF 

THE  UNION  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY, 

IN  NEW  YORK, 

THROUGH   WHOSE    MUNIFICENT    AND    ACTIVE    LIBERALITY 

THE    N-EW   YORK    PROFESSORSHIP    OF    BIBLICAL 

LITERATURE  WAS  ESTABLISHED,  THIS 

SERMON    IS    INSCRIBED, 

IN  TOKEN  OF  THE  GRATEFUL  AFFECTION  OF 

THE  AUTHOR. 


DISCOURSE   IX. 


THE  GLORY  OF  THE  GOSPEL- 


For  if  that  which  was  done  away  was  glorious,  much  more  that  which 
remaineth  is  glorious. — 2  Cor.  iii.  11. 


In  the  passage  of  scripture  before  us,  the  dispensa- 
tions of  Moses  and  of  Jesus  Christ  are  presented  in 
contrast.  In  the  context,  one  is  called  a  ministration 
of  death,  the  other,  of  hfe : — one  a  ministration  of 
condemnation  ;  the  other,  of  justification.  And  in  the 
text,  one  is  represented  as  temporary ;  the  other,  per- 
petual. Both  are  glorious  : — but  one  is  like  the  "  cloudy, 
fiery  pillar"  which  attended  the  sojourn  of  the  Israelites 
in  the  wilderness ;  the  other  is  hke  the  sun,  going  fortli 
in  its  strength,  and,  with  a  brightness  never  diminished, 
shedding  light  through  the  whole  world. 

The  text,  then,  is  entirely  appropriate  to  the  subject 
of  discourse  selected  for  the  present  occasion ;  and, 
taken  in  its  connection,  supports  the  following  general 
proposition  : 


32b  the  glory  of  disc.  ix. 

The  gospel  is  pre-eminently  glorious,  be- 
cause IT  CONTINUES  WITHOUT  CHANGE  ;  AND 
AFFORDS  BLESSINGS  IN  PERPETUITY,  TO  ALL  WHO 
ARE  WILLING  TO  RECEIVE  THEM. 

By  the  gospel,  is  here  meant  the  system  of  rehgion 
revealed  in  the  Bible ;  the  method  of  saving  sinners, 
with  all  its  accompaniments  and  illustrations,  just  as 
they  are  contained  in  the  sacred  scriptures,  without 
human  additions  or  subtractions. 

That  this  religion  is  glorious  ;  that,  compared  with 
all  others,  it  "  exceeds  in  glory,"  is  matter  of  assured 
belief  to  every  christian.  Because,  according  to  his  full 
conviction,  it  is  an  emanation  from  the  eternal  source 
of  all  wisdom  and  goodness.  And  it  will  continue, 
amidst  all  the  changes  of  human  opinion,  "  without 
variableness  or  the  shadow  of  turning,"  to  dispense  its 
blessings  to  man :  because  infinite  power  and  divine 
veracity  are  pledged  to  sustain  it.  All  this  the  christian 
entirely  believes.  So  that,  amidst  the  fierce  assaults, 
and  the  fiercer  threats  of  Infidelity,  the  anxiety  of  the 
Ijeliever  does  not  arise  from  apprehension  that  his  reli- 
gion will  be  destroyed. — This  can  never  be. — But  he 
fears  lest  men,  whom  he  loves,  should  cut  themselves 
oflf  fi-ora  all  the  blessings,  which  the  gospel  provides  ; 
and  bring  on  themselves  all  the  fearful  evils,  which  it 
foretells. 

To  those,  who  have  not  made  up  their  minds  either 
to  embrace  or  reject  the  gospel,  it  may  be  well  to  observe, 
(hat  its  perpetuity  and  unchangcableness  are  not  the 


DISC.  IX.  THE  UOSPEL.  329 

mere  results  of  arbitrary  power ;  Ijut  belong  to  it  as  a 
system  suited  in  its  nature  to  bless  man  at  all  times,  and 
in  all  stages  of  his  existence.  It  possesses  the  charac- 
ter of  him,  whose  name  is  Love  ;  and  who  never 
changes. 

But  it  seems  necessary,  here,  to  remark,  that  the 
whole  argument  on  which  reliance  is  to  be  placed  in 
this  discourse,  will  fail  to  make  its  proper  impression, 
unless  an  objection,  which  has  frequently  been  made, 
should  be  previously  removed.  Systems  of  religion,  it  is 
said,  have  risen  up,  and  had  their  day  ;  but  in  the  pro- 
gress, or  the  changes,  of  the  human  mind,  they  have 
passed  off,  and  are  now  unknown  and  forgotten. — And 
why  may  not  this  be  the  case  with  Christianity  ?  The 
answer  is  easy. — Because  Christianity,  as  a  system  of 
religion,  is  perfectly  unique ;  and  differs,  in  many  ma- 
terial points,  from  every  other  form  of  religion  current 
among  men. 

1 .  It  addresses  itself  directly  to  reason  and  conscience. 
It  relies  entirely  on  evidence  to  support  the  facts  on 
which  it  is  founded ;  and  commends  its  doctrines  and 
precepts  to  all  the  best  feelings  of  our  nature. 

2.  It  puts  no  inordinate  value,  it  lays  no  stress  on 
mere  forms  and  outward  observances.  The  claims  of 
other  religions  are  satisfied,  when  their  prescribed  rites 
are  duly  performed.  According  to  the  religion  of  the 
Bible,  all  external  services  are  acceptable,  precisely  in 
proportion  as  they  express  conformity  of  heart  to  the 
divine  will. 

42 


830  THE  GLORY  OF  ]JISC.  IX. 

3.  Christianity  not  only  disclaims  Enthusiasm,  Fa- 
naticism, and  Superstition  ;  but  when  prevailing  in  its 
purity  and  power,  affords  the  only  real  security  against 
those  desolating  evils.  It  so  regulates  the  rehgious 
principle  by  its  truths  ;  its  doctrines  so  satisfy  the  reason 
of  man,  and  take  hold  of  the  conscience  with  a  giasp  of 
such  power,  that  no  opportunity  is  left  open  for  these 
irregular  and  violent  excitements. 

4.  The  religion  of  the  Bible  lays  no  restraints,  the 
design  of  which  is  not  clearly  benevolent.  It  enjoins 
no  penances,  requires  no  austerities ;  but  recognizing 
every  where  man's  desue  of  happiness,  it  bids  him  ab- 
stain from  nothing,  which  infinite  wisdom  does  not 
know  to  be  injurious  ;  requires  him  to  do  nothing, 
which  our  kind  Father  in  heaven  does  not  see  will 
work  for  his  good. 

5.  The  great  founder  of  this  religion  has  made  all 
the  duties,  which  grow  out  of  man's  various  relations, 
a  part  of  his  system.  As  long  as  there  are  husbands 
and  wives,  parents  and  children,  neighbours,  and 
friends,  and  fellow-men,  so  long  Christianity  will  be 
adapted  to  the  condition  and  circumstances  of  man. 
But  it  also  institutes  new  relations.  It  makes,  indeed, 
the  human  race,  however  diversified,  and  however  scat- 
tered, all  one  family — and  offers  to  all  one  Saviour, 
through  whom  the  whole  species  are  encouraged  to 
approach  one  mercy-seat,  and  say  Our  Father  who 
art  in  heaven.  It  thus  establishes  an  universal  brother- 
liuod ;  it  tlirows  a  golden  chain  of  love  round  this 


DISC.  IX.  THE  GOSPEL.  331 

whole  world.  It  was  the  just  and  very  striking  remark 
of  the  celebrated  Madame  de  Stael,  that  if  the  author 
of  Christianity  had  never  taught  men  any  thing  else, 
than  just  to  say  "  Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven,"  he 
would  have  been  the  greatest  benefactor,  that  ever 
appeared  on  earth. 

6.  This  religion  acknowledges  no  priest,  hut  o?ic  : 
our  GREAT  HIGH  PRIEST,  who  has  passed  into  the 
heavens.  There  are,  under  the  gospel,  none  taken 
from  among  men,  who,  invested  with  divine  au- 
thority, may  modify  their  religion  to  suit  the  changes 
of  human  opinion.  The  whole  of  Christianity  is 
recorded  in  this  blessed  volume,  which  is  in  the  hands 
of  all  disciples,  and  is  to  be  made  known,  by  the  suc- 
cessful agency  of  a  noble  Society,  to  all  that  dwell  on 
earth.  The  Bible,  carrying  on  it  the  impress  of  di- 
vinity, the  broad  seal  of  heaven,  the  stamp  of  eternity, 
will  go  into  all  lands,  and  speak  every  where  the  same 
words  of  eternal  truth.  Genuine  Christianity  is  the 
same  now,  that  it  was  in  the  days  of  Paul. 

There  is  no  other  religion  like  it.  The  passing 
away  of  dissimilar  systems,  then,  affords  no  proof ; — no 
not  the  shadow  of  a  presumption,  that  this,  which  dif- 
fers from  them  all,  will  also  pass  away.  Because  the 
places  of  sand  and  sea-weed  on  the  shore  are  changed 
by  every  rising  tide,  it  does  not  therefore  follow  that  the 
soUd  rocks  will  be  removed.  The  gospel  stands  before 
the  world,  as  an  imperishable  monument  of  the  divine 
Avisdom  and  benignity— And  this,  as  will  be  shown,  not 


:V.i-4  THE  OJ-ORY  OF  DISC.  IX ■ 

merely  because  omnipotence  is  pledged  for  its  support. 
But  because  it  is  of  universal  adaptation,  and  most 
beneficent  efficiency. 

Before  particular  ars^uments  are  brought  forward  to 
support  this  proposition,  I  wish  to  submit  a  general 
remark.  The  christian  religion  does  not  present  the 
appearance  of  a  system  devised  to  suit  the  selfish  pur- 
poses of  its  author,  and  the  application  of  power  or 
fraud,  to  compel,  or  seduce,  a  timid  and  ignorant  rabble 
to  comply  with  its  precepts.  On  the  contrary,  it  takes 
human  nature  as  it  actually  is  ;  and,  disregarding  all 
adventitious  differences,  it  enters  into  the  inner  man. 
and  speaks  to  all  the  same  language ;  addresses  in  all 
the  same  principles  and  feelings ;  and  supplies,  every 
where,  the  same  wants  of  this  dying,  immortal,  ra- 
tional, accountable  being.  It  recognizes  his  pro 
roundest  moral  feelings,  the  mighty  movements  of  his 
spirit,  and  every  thing  in  him,  which  loves  to  grapple 
A\nth  infinity,  and  rejoices  in  the  thoughts  of  eternity, 
and  longs  after  immortality.  It  shows  an  intimate 
acquaintance  with  his  deepest  musings,  his  most  retired 
thoughts,  the  agonizing  throes  and  throbbings  of  his 
soul,  when  the  flesh  contends  with  the  spirit,  and  the 
spirit  with  the  flesh  :  when  he  feels  the  entanglements 
and  enticements  of  worldly  pleasure,  and  is  powerfully 
attracted  by  the  lying  vanities  of  life,  but  yet  knows 
that  he  has  a  nature  allied  to  heaven,  and  is  an  heir  of 
eternity  ;  when  the  dark  cloud  of  guilt  hangs  over  his 
heart,  and  truth  is  only  like  the  lightning  flash,  which 


DISC.  IX.  THE  GOSPEL.  333 

shows  the  fearftilness  of  the  coming  storm.  The  deep 
anxieties,  the  soul-shaking  tenors,  the  envenomed 
sting's  of  remorse,  all  in  a  word  that  guilt  suffers,  and 
the  greater  torments  which  it  fears,  are  perfectly  known 
to  the  Bible ;  as  well  as  every  feeling  of  ingenuous 
repentance,  every  purpose  of  holy  living,  every  kindling 
up  of  hope,  every  anticipated  joy  of  eternal  life.  In 
this  sacred  word  of  eternal  truth,  we  find  a  power  of 
thoroughly  searching  the  heart ;  a  perfect  knowledge 
of  every  thing  in  man,  which  compels  us  to  beUeve 
that  he  who  made  him  made  the  Bible  also. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  too,  that  they  who  carefully 
study  the  authentic  records  of  the  christian  religion. 
and  feel  the  power  of  its  truths,  possess  a  more  exten- 
sive and  accurate  knowledge  of  human  nature,*  and 
have  far  worthier  thoughts  of  the  value  of  man,  and 
man's  interests,  than  any  other  persons  whatsoever. 
And  this,  Avithout  any  exception,  wherever  the  Bible  is 
circulated,  and  the  religion  taught  in  it  prevails.  This 
leads  to  the  first  argument  in  support  of  our  general  pro- 
position. 

I.  Christianity  is  adapted  to  all  climates,  to  all 
periods,  to  all  conditions  of  human  existence  :  and 
produces,  wherever  it  prevails,  the  same  effects. 

For  proof,  an  appeal  is  made  to  facts.  This  reli- 
gion began  in  Jerusalem  :  it  spread  to  Antioch  :  and 

*  At  any  rate  they  have  more  self-knowledge  than  others.  A  strong  minded, 
but  unlettered  native  of  Africa,  brought  to  this  country  before  the  nefarious 
slave-trade  was  broken  up,  when  describing  to  the  preacher  the  effect  produced 
on  himself  by  the  Bible,  used  these  remarkable  words  —Why  Massa,  it  turned 
my  heart  inside  out,  and  showed  mo  every  thins  in  it. 


A'Si  >'HK  GLORY  OF  DISC.  IX. 

thence  made  its  victorious  progress  through  "  Pontus, 
Galatia,  Cappadocia,  Asia,  and  Bithynia,"  even  to 
Troas.  It  then  passed  over  to  Macedonia  and  Greece, 
and  made  its  lodgment  in  Amphipolis,  in  Thessalonica, 
in  PhilHppi,  in  Corinth,  in  Athens.  Imperial  Rome 
herself  soon  felt  its  power,  and  converts  to  the  faith  were 
numerous  in  the  metropolis  of  the  world.  Churches 
were  also  established  in  ancient  Spain,  in  Gaul,  and  in 
the  British  Islands.  The  doctrine  of  Christ  pervaded 
Egypt  and  the  whole  of  civilized  Africa — and  went  far 
lo  the  East.  And  so  at  this  day,  it  is  found  in  all  the 
various  climates,  by  which  the  divine  vdsdom  has  seen 
fit  to  diversify  the  physical  condition  of  man. 

It  is  also  suited  to  all  classes  of  the  human  intellect, 
and  to  every  variety  of  human  character.  We  know 
that  the  first  preachers  of  this  religion  were  the  fisher- 
men of  Galilee  ;  and  that  numbers  of  females  in  hum- 
ble life,  of  mechanics,  and  soldiers,  were  disciples  of 
Christ.  It  is  equally  well  known  that  "  honourable 
women  not  a  few,"  men  of  learning,  of  military  fame, 
and  imperial  connections,  piiests  and  philosophers,  be- 
came "  obedient  to  the  faith"  Sergius  Paulus,  Diony- 
sius  the  Areopagite,  and  many  others  might  here  be 
mentioned.  But  Paul  the  apostle  of  the  gentiles  may 
stand  for  all.  His  enlarged  views,  his  unbounded  de- 
votion to  the  cause  of  Christ,  his  fervent  charity,  his 
untiring  labours,  his  intrepid  zeal,  and  the  wonderful 
effects  of  his  preaching  among  all  classes  of  people, 
show  him  to  have  been,  as  Longinus  declared  that  he 


DISC.  IX.  THE  GOSPEL.  335 

was,  HO  common  man*  While  therefore  the  gospel 
has  the  glory  of  a  peculiar  adaptedness  to  the  condition 
of  the  feeble,  the  poor,  and  the  afflicted ;  it  seems  to  be 
equally  well  suited  to  the  highest  stations,  and  the 
most  exalted  understandings. 


*  Some  farther  remarks  on  the  character  of  Paul,  which,  for  want  of  time  , 
were  omitted  in  the  delivery  of  the  sermon,  are  thrown  into  the  following  note  : 

One  of  the  most  striking  traits  in  the  character  of  this  extraordinary  man  was 
his  readiness  to  understand,  and  his  promptness  to  enter  into,  the  great  design  of 
Jesus  Christ  to  give  the  world  a  universal  reliiiion  His  mind,  with  wonderful  fa- 
cility, threw  off  the  prejudices  of  his  Jewish  education,  and  expanded  to  the  vast- 
ness  of  this  enterprise.  It  is  remarkable,  too,  that  alter  he  had  cast  off  the  yoke  of 
Jewish  ceremonies,  and  abandoned  his  first  religious  connections,  he  manifested 
no  bitterness  of  spirit  towards  his  former  friends.  On  the  contrary  his  kindness 
was  unwearied,  and  his  disposition  to  accommodate  his  practice  to  their  preju- 
dices, as  far  as  he  could  do  so  without  sacrifice  of  christian  principle,  was 
remarkable  Perhaps  a  higher  example  of  firmness  united  with  liberality  was 
never  exliibited  by  any  mere  man. 

His  history  shows,  also,  a  noble  instance  of  intellectual  and  moral  courage. 
His  design  most  evidently  was  to  spread  the  gospel  through  the  whole  world.— 
Rom.  i.  5.  He  went  to  his  work  in  full  expectation  of  success,  without  any 
human  means,  but  the  use  of  reason  and  persuasion.  His  confidence  in  the 
power  of  truth  seems  to  have  been  unlimited  and  unwavering. 

His  physical  courage  was  of  the  highest  order.  There  never  was  a  bolder  or 
braver  man.  His  activity  and  industry  were  indefatigable.  No  man  of  com- 
mon discernment  can  read  his  writings  without  believing  his  sincerity — his 
sacrifice  of  personal  ease,  wealth,  pleasure,  honour,  and  all  worldly  considera- 
tions, was  unhesitating  and  entire.  He  was  firm  and  devoted  in  his  friendships, 
and  ardent  in  his  benevolence.  His  lofty  spirit  towered  amidst  the  persecutions 
whieh  he  had  to  endure.  In  no  emergency  did  his  self-possession  forsake  him : 
and  it  is  impossible  not  to  admire  his  dignified  and  majestic  calmness,  under 
heavy  aci  usations  before  the  great  men  and  nobles  of  the  world.  Among  all 
the  fine  sub  ects  for  the  pencil  furnished  by  the  Bible,  there  is  scarcely  one  more 
worthy  of  an  artist  of  the  first  order,  than  Paul,  as  he  stood  before  Festus  and 
king  Agrippa,  and  said,  while  he  raised  his  arms,  and  gently  shook  his  chains, 
"  I  would  to  God,  that  not  only  thou,  but  all  who  hear  me  this  day,  were  not 
only  almost,  but  altogether,  such  as  I  am,  except  these  bonds." 

His  power  as  a  public  speaker  was  certainly  very  great.  The  proof  is  foimd 
in  his  success.  He  persuaded  innumerable  multitudes  to  believe  what  they 
were  predisposed  to  reject ;  and  to  do  that,  to  which  antecedently  they  had  a 
strong  aversion.  As  a  writer,  he  has  been  studied  and  admired,  in  every  age, 
from  his  <  wn  down  to  the  present.— and  this  although  his  style  is  abrupt, 
involved,  and  harsh.  In  his  manner  of  reasoning,  too,  there  is  something  very 
peculiar;  and  exceedingly  unlike  that  of  the  polished  writers  of  antiquity. 
But  a  just  consideration  of  this  case  will  exalt  his  character  in  the  estimation 
of  every  impartial  observer.    The  Jews,  at  that  time,  were  dispersed  in  great 


;j36  THR  GLORY  OF  DISC.   IX. 

The  case  is  just  the  same  in  modern  times.  Wc 
daily  see  this  blessed  religion  going  like  a  ministering 
angel,  with  both  hands  loaded  with  blessings,  into  the 
cottages  of  the  humble  and  uninstructed.  And  begin- 
ning with  living  men  of  talent  and  genius,  we  can  go 
through  a  long  catalogue  of  splendid  names,  the  con- 
necting Unks  between  human  and  spiritual  existence, 
up  to  Boyle  and  Bacon,  and  other  master  spirits,  who 
led  the  van,  in  the  present  march  of  the  human  mind. 


numbers  through  all  parts  of  the  Roman  empire,  were  much  favoured  by  the 
emperors,  and  in  every  considerable  city  had  their  synagogues.  And  history 
assures  us  that  multitudes  of  the  heathen,  disgusted  with  their  polytheism,  fre- 
quented these  Jewish  places  of  worship ;  and  were  accustomed  to  hear  their 
scriptures  read  ;  and  to  listen  to  the  comments  of  their  doctors.— Acts.  xv.  21. 
The  Jewish  style  of  writing  and  manner  of  reasoning,  then,  were  familiar  to 
all,  both  hellenistic  Jews  and  gentiles,  who  were  first  converted  to  Christ.  The 
apostle,  therefore,  felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to  address  them  in  a  way  conformable 
to  their  habits  of  speaking,  and  modes  of  thinking  on  the  subject  of  religion. 
A'nd  to  appreciate  his  value  as  a  writer,  or  even  to  understand  his  reasoning, 
one  must  take  the  trouble  to  become  well  acquainted  with  his  peculiarities. 
Certainly,  he  who  has  refused  to  do  this,  is  no  more  prepared  to  judge  of  his 
writings,  than  he  would  be  to  criticise  Homer,  on  reading  Cowper's  or  Pope's 
translation. 

If  a  man,  whose  power  was  deeply  felt  by  the  age  in  which  he  lived ;  and 
whose  writings,  though  few  in  number,  and  composed,  in  the  manner  of  familiar 
and  confidential  letters,  amidst  many  labours  and  perils,  yet  have  lived  from  age 
to  age  for  eighteen  centuries,  and  through  this  long  succession  of  generations, 
have  exerted,  and  do  still  exert,  a  powerful  influence  on  thousands  and  millions 
— if  such  a  man  is  not,  in  every  proper  sense  of  the  term,  trubj  great,  where 
shall.we  find  one  who  is  ;  and,  what  are  the  criteria  and  the  evidences  of  great- 
ness ■?— Who  can  help  pitying  the  intellectual  waywardness  of  those,  who  call 
the  apo'stle  Paul  a  "  dupe  ?" 

But  let  anyone  read  the  writings  of  Paul,  with  an  honest  desire  to  ascertain 
their  moral  influences— let  him  mark  the  sincerity  which  characterizes  every 
sentence  ;  the  abhorrence  of  fraud,  deceit,  and  hypocrisy,  every  where  conspi- 
cuous :  the  strong  terms  in  which  reliance  on  mere  religious  forms  and  ceremo- 
nies is  reprobated;  and  the  urgent  manner  in  which  honesty,  industry,  tem- 
perance, chastity,  kindness,  forgiveness,  and  universal  charity,  as  well  as  sin- 
cere piety,  are  recommended — let  him,  I  say,  mark  well  all  these  things,  and  he 
will  be  able  to  judge  of  the  moral  obliquity  of  those,  who  can  bring  themselve= 
lo  represent  the  apostle  Paul  as  an  "  impostor." 


DISC.  IX.  thb:  gospel.  337 

We  can  also  turn  to  the  history  of  the  Moravian 
missionaries,  and  see  those  excellent-  brethren,  seeking 
in  the  farthest  north  the  snow-built  huts  of  the  Green- 
landers  ;  or  traversing  the  burning  plains  of  southern 
Africa,  in  search  of  the  Caffres  and  Hottentots,  and  by 
no  human  means,  but  the  simple  preaching  of  the  gos- 
pel, transforming  these  lowest  and  harshest  of  human 
beings  into  humble,  gentle,  pure,  kind-hearted  chris- 
tians. 

Our  own  brethren,  too,  and  the  particular  friends, 
no  doubt,  of  some  here  present,  have  gone  to  the 
"  scattered  and  peeled"  children  of  our  western  forests, 
of  whom  both  the  sport  and  the  occupation  was  war, 
and  by  the  power  of  the  gospel  have  made  them  sons 
of  peace :  they  have  gone  to  the  islands  of  the  sea,  and 
have  transformed  the  inhabitants,  though  sunk  into 
the  last  degree  of  ignorance  and  sensuality,  into  intel- 
hgent,  chaste,  and  charitable  men :  they  have  shown 
us,  too,  that  the  degraded  Hindu  can  be  washed  from 
the  pollutions  of  the  Indian  Moloch,  and  raised  into 
manhood,  so  as  to  break  the  iron  oppression  of  caste, 
and  assert  his  liberty  as  a  man  and  a  christian. 

This  religion  is  indeed  of  universal  adaptation.  There 
is  no  mind  so  great,  that  Christianity  cannot  fill  it  vnih 
its  tniths  ;  no  reason  so  exact,  that  it  cannot  satisfy  it 
with  its  evidences  ;  no  aspirations  so  lofty,  that  it  can- 
not answer  them  with  conesponding  glory  and  feUcity. 
Nor  is  there  any  ignorance  of  savage  man  too  profound 
for  its  instructions ;  any  stain  of  guilt  too  dark  and 
48 


338  THE  GLORY  OF  DISC.  IX. 

deep  for  its  sanctifying  power  ;  any  misery  so  extreme. 
;is  to  be  beyond  the  reach  of  its  consolations.  Let 
there  but  be  faith  in  its  doctrines,  and  obedience  to  its 
precepts,  and  it  will  bless  all,  from  the  monarch  on  his 
throne  to  the  slave  in  his  cabin,  or  the  prisoner  in  his 
dungeon  :  from  him  whose  mind  is  filled  with  all  the 
stores  of  human  knowledge,  to  the  poor  naked  savage, 
who  has  not  yet  learned  the  use  of  fire. 

II.  The  gospel  is  adapted  to  all  parts  of  mavUs 
intellectual  and  moral  nature. 

1.  Assuming  the  existence  of  the  Deity,  and  all  the 
truths  of  natural  religion,  it  leads  its  votary  through  all 
the  beauties  and  glories  of  creation,  and  teaches  him 
that  all  this  loveliness  and  magnificence  is  only  a  spark 
stmck  out  from  the  everlasting  source  of  light  and  love. 
But  it  advances  to  a  higher  and  more  recondite  know- 
ledge :  it  tells  man  of  "  things  not  seen  and  eternal ;" 
it  unveils  the  glories  of  infinite  wisdom  and  mercy ; 
reveals  the  counsels  of  the  Almighty ;  gives  enlarged 
views  of  the  moral  administration  of  the  universe — 
and  in  a  word,  applies  the  strongest  stimulus  to 
the  human  mind  ;  gives  the  widest  range  to  human 
thoughts. 

The  sacred  books  of  the  christians,  too,  contain 
many  specimens  of  the  noblest  writing  in  the  world. 
There  is  no  poetry,  no  eloquence,  no  history,  no  graphic 
dehneation  of  human  character,  like  that  to  be  found 
in  the  Bible. 

The  justiicsd  of  all  these  remarks  will  be  apparent 
to  hiru  who  considers  the  foct,  that  wherever  the  Bible 


IJISC.  IX.  THE  GOSPEL.  339 

i.s  generally  diflused,  there  is  wakened  up  a  general 
spirit  of  improvement  among  the  people.  Common 
schools  are  well  supported.  The  population  is  intelli- 
gent. The  wealthy  classes  feel  the  pressure  of  those 
below  them  in  their  efforts  to  rise ;  and  the  higher 
education  flourishes.  It  is  in  such  circumstances,  that 
we  often  see  suddenly  springing  even  from  the  lowest 
ranks  of  society,  men,  in  whom  there  has  been  kindled 
an  etherial  fire,  which  bears  them  upward.  They  rise 
in  a  column  of  pure  and  heavenly  light,  which  sheds 
brightness  through  the  land,  and  sends  its  radiance 
even  to  distant  nations  and  ages. 

The  founder  of  Christianity  manifested  his  love  of 
improvement,  and  conferred  on  mankind  a  benefit,  the 
value  of  which  is  yet  unacknowledged,  when  he  made 
his  church  a  school,  and  ordained  that  the  gravest,  the 
kindest,  the  hohest,  and  wisest  of  his  disciples,  should 
be  teachers.  This  is  the  peculiar  and  appropriate 
office  of  the  ministers  of  this  religion.  It  is  a  deplorable 
and  most  mischievous  perversion  of  the  ordinance  of 
Jesus  Christ,  when  they  assume  to  be  priests,  and,  by 
vutue  of  their  authority,  to  convey,  through  rites  and 
ceremonies,  spiritual  benefits  to  the  people.  But  when 
by  plain,  strong,  and  manly  expositions  of  christian 
doctrine  and  duty ;  by  vigilant  and  faithful  attention 
to  the  interests  of  education  in  every  department,  they 
communicate  the  most  important  information  to  young 
and  old  in  all  classes  of  society  ;  they  then  "  fulfil  their 
ministry,"  and  are  blessings  indeed  to  the  peoplf*.    The 


.MO  I'HK  GLORY  UF  DISC.  IX. 

gospel,  wliicli  on  divine  authorit,}'^  has  instituted  such  a 
course  of  perpetual  instruction,  has  ensured  to  mankind 
a  greater  amount  of  valuable  improvement,  at  a  cheaper 
rate,  than  has  ever  been  in  any  other  way  afforded. 
All  enlightened  christians  with  reason  glory  in  the 
gospel  as  the  religion  of  intellectual  improvement. 

2,  The  suitableness  of  the  gospel  to  the  condition 
of  man  is  apparent  from  its  treatment  of  his  affec- 
tions and  passions.  The  authors  of  other  systems 
have,  in  regard  to  this  ditiicult  and  delicate  point,  run 
into  various  errors,  and  opposite  extremes.  They  have 
destroyed  that  balance  of  the  human  mind,  which  is 
necessary  to  peace  and  virtue ;  and  under  the  character 
of  public  teachers  have  done  incalculable  mischief  to 
the  world.  But  the  founder  of  Christianity  has  taken 
man  as  a  being  compounded  of  matter  and  mind,  with 
reason,  conscience,  passion,  and  appetite  ;  and  has 
treated  him  according  to  his  natural  constitution.  This 
religion  is  equally  removed  from  stoical  or  monkish 
severity,  and  epicurean  licentiousness.  It  does  not 
exterminate  any  principle  of  our  nature,  or  indulge  any 
evil  propensity ;  but  with  most  consummate  wisdom 
and  benevolence,  it  regulates  the  v/onderful  machinery 
of  man. 

A  volume  would  not  afford  more  than  room  enough 
for  the  discussion  of  this  one  topic.  In  a  single  dis- 
course, only  a  very  few  particular  cases  can  be  selected 
for  illustration.  Let  us  first  take  love,  that  dehghtful, 
tormenting,  ennobling,  degrading   passion.     Its  ordi- 


DISC.  IX.  TUK  CiOSPKl..  341 

nary  effects,  when  supremely  fixed  on  worldly  objects; 
are  too  well  known  to  be  here  described.  It  is  the  reli- 
gion of  the  Bible  only,  which  turns  it  at  once  on  objects 
worthy  to  be  loved  by  rational  and  immortal  beings. 
All  other  reUgions  present  their  deities  as  objects  of 
fear  and  terror.  The  gospel  reveals  one  eternal  Jeho- 
vah, the  kind  parent  of  all,  as  slow  to  wrath  and 
abundant  in  mercy.  It  sets  him  forth  in  the  infinite 
glories  of  his  moral  character,  and  awakens  eur  high- 
est, purest,  holiest  love  to  him,  by  bringing  down  to  our 
very  senses  the  strongest  proofs  of  his  love  to  us.  When 
once  the  heart  of  man  answers  the  claim  of  the  divine 
law,  and  is  fixed  on  the  Almighty  as  its  all-sufficient 
portion,  the  whole  nature  of  man  is  balanced  and  regu- 
lated ;  and  we  are  prepared  to  love  every  other  object, 
just  as  we  ought.  None  manifest  love  so  true,  so  tender, 
so  unwearied  in  all  the  relations  of  life :  none  pursue 
the  objects  of  this  world  with  affections  so  tempered  and 
so  wisely  directed,  as  they  who  have  been  brought 
under  the  full  power  of  this  blessed  religion. 

I  shall  next  advert  for  a  moment  to  hojie.  It  has 
been  called  the  "  wine  of  life ;"  it  has  been  personified 
as  "  a  gay  deceiver."  It  is  certainly,  to  use  another 
figure,  the  main-spring  of  the  soul.  It  gives  energy  to 
man  in  all  his  pursuits,  and  elasticity  to  all  his  move- 
ments. As  long  as  it  keeps  its  place  in  the  human 
heart,  you  may  see  man  mgmg  onward  in  his  course, 
with  vigorous  step  and  joyous  eye.  But  let  it  depart 
from  liim — let  him  feel  that  it  is  "  clean  gone  forever," 


342  THR  GLORY  OF  DISC.  IX. 

and  he  sinks  at  once  into  utter  apathy  ;  his  enterprise^ 
his  haidiliood,  his  activity,  his  Uving  spirit, are  also  gone. 
Now  it,  requires  but  Uttle  knowledge  of  human  nature 
to  enable  one  to  understand  how  important  it  is,  that  a 
being  such  as  man,  who  cannot  be  happy  without  an 
object  before  him  sufficient  to  create  a  lively  interest, 
should  have  his  hopes  wisely  directed.  But  in  this  case, 
all  human  wisdom  has  utterly  failed  from  the  beginning 
to  the  present  day.  Men  have  hoped  for  things  unat- 
tainable ;  or  for  things,  which,  when  attained,  have 
disappointed  theii-  expectations.  Thus  has  much  la- 
bour been  wasted ;  and  in  the  end  we  have  heard,  ten 
thousand  times  repeated,  the  bitter  cry  of  "  Vanity  of 
vanities  !  vanity  of  vanities  !  all  is  vanity." 

But  the  gospel  fastens  the  hopes  of  man  on  infinity, 
and  eternity  ;  and  gives  for  their  warrant  the  sure  pro- 
mise of  Jehovah,  and  the  redeeming  love  of  the  Saviour. 
All  other  uiterests  and  pursuits  are  valuable,  only  as 
they  subserve  his  great  purpose  of  obtaining  eternal  Ufe 
and  never-fading  glory.  How  then  can  his  "  expecta- 
tion perish  ?"  How  can  the  changes  of  this  world 
destroy  his  hope  ?  How  can  the  bubbles,  which  dance 
and  glitter  before  him  in  the  brief  sunshine  of  worldly 
prosperity,  deceive  and  mislead  him  ? 

Once  more :  we  find  in  man  universally,  an  intense, 
insuppressible  desire  of  pleasure :  a  constant  craving  for 
present  gratification.  It  is  more  manifest  in  the  young 
than  the  old ;  because  youth  lives  on  actual  e?ijoi/- 


DISC.  IX.  THE  GOSPEL-  343 

merit,  and  old  age  on  reflection.  But  the  desire  is  felt, 
the  demand  is  made  by  all. 

Now  all  experience  and  observation  convince  us, 
that  here  is  one  of  the  most  fearful  dangers  to  which 
human  nature  is  exposed.  Other  enemies  slay  theii* 
thousands,  but  this  its  ten  thousands.  Alas,  how  many 
hapless  youth  in  this  city,  and  this  nation,  are  at  this 
moment  going  after  this  syien  "  as  the  ox  goeth  to  the 
slaughter,  or  as  a  fool  to  the  correction  of  the  stocks,  till 
a  dart  strike  through  their  Uver !"  "Her  house  is" 
indeed  "  the  way  to  hell,  going  down  to  the  chambers 
of  death  !"  How  many  thousands,  urged  by  the  desire 
of  present  gratification,  have  looked  "  on  the  wine  when 
it  is  red,  when  it  giveth  its  colour  in  the  cup,  when  it 
moveth  itself  aright ;"  who  have  even  "  tarried  long  at 
the  wine,  and  have  gone  to  seek  mixed  wine ;" — and 
thus,  "  have  woe,  have  sorrow,  have  contentions,  have 
wounds  without  cause,  and  redness  of  eyes  ?" — Believe 
it,  young  friends,  that  which  stands  before  you  now,  in 
grace  and  beauty,  is  decked  with  meretricious  charms. 
You  are  deceived. — Pleasure  !  She  is  the  fellest  fiend 
that  ever  led  man  to  destruction.  The  great  destroyer 
has  no  minister  of  evil  so  faithful,  so  successful.  Her 
dwelling  is  near  to  the  gates  of  hell. 

But  it  may  be  asked,  shall  this  desire  of  pleasure  never 
be  gratified — must  the  demand  be  forever  resisted ;  and 
man  live  an  austere,  joyless  life,  during  his  appointed 
time  on  earth  ?  I  answer,  assuredly  not.  Those  good 
christians,  who  think  it  then-  most  solemn  duty  to  be 


344  THE  GLORY  OF  DISC.  IX. 

miserable,  have  greatly  mistaken  the  genius  of  their 
religion.  It  is  none  of  the  least  of  the  blessings,  which 
Christianity  has  bestowed  on  man,  that  it  has  afforded 
to  him  an  endless  succession  of  innocent  pleasures. 
The  gospel,  when  it  comes  in  its  power  to  the  human 
heart,  so  changes  it,  that  man  can  be  excited,  and 
deeply  interested,  yea  rendered  alert  and  joyous,  without 
the  "snappish  dialogue"  and  buffoonery  of  the  theatre; 
without  the  pungent  stimuli  of  strong  drink ;  or  any 
of  the  purchased  indulgences  of  the  sensualist.  The 
religion  of  Christ  gives  to  the  christian  pleasure  without 
pollution,  daily,  hourly,  pure,  uncloying,  ever  growing 
pleasure.  It  allows  every  thing  to  natural  desire,  which 
is  not  injurious ;  and  intermingles  with  gratifications 
derived  from  this  source,  others  which  flow  from  the 
everlasting  fountain  of  joy  in  heaven.  It  is  most  par- 
ticularly beneficial  to  the  young,  in  the  ardour  and 
vehemence  of  their  desires ;  because  it  answers  their 
incessant  and  urgent  demands  for  something  of  high 
interest,  something  corresponding  to  the  intensity  of 
their  feelings.  And  it  is  wonderfully  adapted  to  the 
condition  of  the  aged  ;  because,  even  when  life  is  worn 
out,  it  still  presents  to  them  objects  of  hope,  so  glorious, 
that  they  can  stir  the  sluggish  currents  of  age,  and 
kindle  up  in  its  cold  heart  the  ardour  of  youth. 

III.  The  beneficent  and  wise  adaptation  of  this 
religion  to  the  nature  of  man  is  apparent  from  its 
operation  on  his  conscience. 


DISC.  IX.  TUl::   UOSPKL.  •^1'J 

In  pointing  out  the  difference  between  Christianity 
and  other  forms  of  rehgion,  it  was  remarked,  that  it 
directs  its  main  force  to  the  reason  and  conscience  of 
man.  Its  vakie,  in  this  respect,  is  apparent  fiom  the 
fact,  that  the  conscience,  from  want  of  proper  discipline 
and  exercise,  may  be  inert  and  feeble :  and  also  that, 
under  powerful  excitement,  it  may  be  deplorably  mis- 
directed. Instead  of  guiding  us  into  the  way  of  virtue 
and  piety,  it  may  mislead  us  then  to  our  utter  ruin. 
Hence  it  is  of  unspeakable  importance,  that  we  should 
have  access  to  truth,  which  has  power  to  awaken  the 
slumberer  within  us.  The  Bil^le  has  that  power,  and 
it  has  teen  exerted  times  without  number.  It  is  the 
voice  of  the  Almighty,  speaking  directly  to  us :  it  tells 
us,  with  divine  authority,  what  we  are,  and  what  we 
must  do,  and  be,  and  avoid,  that  we  may  escape  the 
perdition  of  ungodly  men,  and  be  prepared  to  dwell 
with  "  the  saints  in  glory."  It  strikes  on  ;he  heart  of 
the  sinner,  even  "  when  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins," 
and  sends  a  thrill  of  powerful  feeling  through  his  whole 
soul.  His  moral  torpor  is  gone.  He  is  awakened. 
He  is  all  alive.  But  the  effect  of  evangelical  truth  is 
not  mere  excitement.  By  the  communication  of  know- 
ledge respecting  our  Creator,  our  relations  and  obliga- 
tions to  him,  and  to  one  another,  our  moral  faculties 
are  most  wisely  directed.  The  harmony  of  all  man's 
duties  is  most  beautifully  displayed.  His  whole  intel- 
lectual and  moral  nature  is  admirably  balanced.  And 
we  see,  in  the  well  instmcted  christian,  an  edifying  and 
44 


346  THE  GLOUY  OK  J)iyC.  IX. 

delightful  example  of  fervent  piety,  united  with  calm, 
dignified,  and  incormptible  virtue.  In  the  best  human 
characters,  formed  under  any  other  influences,  we  dis- 
cern, either  most  hurtful  excesses,  or  deplorable  defi- 
ciences.  In  the  warrior  and  statesman,  we  find  pa- 
triotism sadly  intermingled  with  ambition,  envy,  jea- 
lousy, and  other  evil  passions.  Most  distinguished 
philosophers  have  l^een  notorious  for  pride,  vanity,  and 
even  sensuality.  And  universally,  where  the  power 
of  christian  truth  has  not  been  felt  on  the  heart,  the 
most  estimable  individuals  have  shown  the  operations 
of  selfishness,  in  some  way  or  other  marring  their  moral 
character.  But  the  religion  of  the  Bible  embraces,  in 
the  wide  range  of  its  influences,  every  part  of  the  hu- 
man mind,  and  every  department  of  human  life. 
Nothing  is  necessary  to  make  man  all  that  he  ought 
to  be,  to  give  its  finish  to  the  human  character,  and 
adorn  it  with  every  grace  and  beauty,  but  the  sincere, 
hearty  application  of  the  entire  truth  of  the  gospel. 

4.  But  again  :  no  religion  knows  what  to  do  with 
the  guilty  and  troubled  conscience,  hut  the  religion 
of  the  gospel. 

It  is  not  enough  for  the  rehgious  teacher  to  tell  me  to 
be  virtuous  and  pious ;  for,  I  am  a  sinner.  It  is  not  suffi- 
cient tliat  he  should  tell  me  to  repent ;  because,  while 
conscious  of  the  imperfection  of  my  best  performances,  I 
never  can  be  assured  that  my  penitence  goes  as  far  as 
is  necessary.  There  are  many  sins  which  I  have 
wholly  forgotten  :  many,  which  I  very  indistinctly  re- 


DISC.  i:x.  riiF.  GosPEf..  ''iA7 

member.  I  am  under  the  influences  of  self-love,  the 
worst  judge,  perhaps,  in  the  universe,  of  the  aggrava- 
tion of  my  own  offences.  Besides,  I  cannot  perceive 
the  relation  wliich  exists  between  present  penitence  and 
past  offences,  so  as  to  see  how  the  one  can  nullify  the 
other.  The  doctrine  of  repentance  alone,  then,  is 
worse  than  nothing  to  him,  who  deeply  feels  that  he  is 
•'  a  sinner  exceedingly  great  before  the  Lord."  It  does 
not  awaken  hope  enough  in  man's  heart,  to  make  him 
a  sincere  penitent.  And  while  it  is  insufficient  for  his 
reformation,  it  is  incapable  of  giving  him  peace  of 
conscience. 

But  the  gospel  addresses  the  guilty  in  the  voice  of 
divine  authority,  mingled  with  divine  love.  It  tells  him 
of  the  infinite  atonement;  it  assures  him  of  mercy, 
which  knows  no  bound ;  of  mercy,  displayed  in  con- 
sistence with  all  the  demands  of  justice,  and  with  the 
perfect  holiness  of  our  eternal  Sovereign. 

5.  The  g-ospel  is  wonderfully  adapted  to  the  na- 
ture of  man,  because  the  iinlimited  reach  of  its 
truths  is  suited  to  the  progress  of  our  intellectual 
and  moral  facidties. 

Such  is  the  nature  of  man,  that  when  he  has  at- 
tained an  object,  and  ascertained  its  extent,  so  that  he 
is  able  to  say,  this  is  all : — when  he  has  found  just 
what  the  thing  can  do  for  him  ;  and  knows  that  it  can 
do  no  more,  he  is  at  once  disgusted.  But  the  truths  of 
Christianity  are  ever  enlarging  before  the  mind  of  the 
believer.     I>et  its  growth  be  what  it  may,  still  it  feels 


'Mi<  J'HK   liLORV   OF  UlSC.   IX. 

that  tliere  is  something  in  religion,  which  goes  beyond 
his  grasp,  and  that  it  gives  his  understanding  work  for 
eternity. 

The  same  is  true  in  regard  to  the  christian's  pro- 
gress in  hoHness.  In  proportion  as  his  moral  taste  be- 
comes refined,  and  his  perceptions  cleai-,  he  perceives- 
new  beauties  and  glories  in  evangelical  holiness ;  he 
sees  a  higher  fitness  and  excellence  in  the  moral  pre- 
cepts of  the  gospel.  No  mind  of  man,  however  culti- 
vated and  sanctified,  goes  beyond  the  discoveries  made 
in  the  beginning,  by  the  revelations  of  the  gospel. 
After  the  progress  of  eighteen  centuries,  not  a  doctrine 
of  this  religion  has  become  useless,  not  a  precept  obso- 
lete.    The  meaning  of  the  gospel  is  inexhaustible. 

I  do  not  say  that  new  religious  truths  are  discovered, 
in  man's  present  state.  But  the  case  is  this  : — When 
one  for  the  first  time  reads  such  a  work  as  Milton's  Pa- 
jadise  Lost,  or  sees  West's  picture  of  Christ  Rejected. 
if  he  has  any  taste  or  any  feeling,  he  perceives  many 
splendid  beauties,  and  enjoys  them  most  highly.  But 
every  new  examination  shows  him  something,  which 
he  did  not  discern  before.  In  looking  at  the  picture, 
for  instance,  it  may  be  that  he  first  examines  the  indi- 
vidual figures  ;  and  is  subdued  by  the  mingled  majesty 
and  meekness  which  appear  in  the  Christ — or  he  is 
melted  in  sympathy  with  the  impassioned  Mary — or  is 
kindled  into  indignation,  when  he  beholds  the  envious 
and  malignant  Jews.  After  having  studied  every  par- 
ticular fiffure,  he  then  considers  the  harmonies  and  con- 


THE  GOSPEL. 


349 


liasts  of  the  various  groupes,  the  propriety  of  their  po- 
sitions, and  in  a  word,  every  thing  which  shows  the 
genius  of  the  painter,  and  the  skill  of  the  artist.  The 
subject  is  not  exhausted,  until  the  spectator  has  com- 
prehended the  whole  plan  of  the  work,  and  examined 
thoroughly  every  beauty  of  its  execution ;  not  until 
he  has  been  brought  to  think  and  feel  about  it,  as  the 
artist  did.  And  so,  but  in  a  much  higher  degree,  of 
the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  Every  careful  study  of 
this  glorious  system,  shows  new  beauties  in  truths  a 
thousand  times  considered — and  the  subject  never  can 
be  exhausted,  until  the  mind  of  man  rises,  if  I  may 
say  so,  to  the  conceptions,  the  thoughts,  the  feelings, 
and  the  great  plan  of  its  oivrNE  author. 

Having  thus  shown  that  the  gospel  is,  with  admira- 
ble wisdom  and  benevolence,  adapted  to  man,  in  all  re- 
gions, in  all  periods,  and  in  aU  conditions  of  human  so- 
ciety ;  and  moreover,  that  it  is  suited  to  the  whole  of 
his  intellectual  and  moral  nature,  I  wish,  in  the  remain- 
ing part  of  this  discourse,  to  notice  some  special  bless- 
ings conferred  by  it,  which  it  was  not  convenient  to 
introduce  under  the  foregoing  divisions  : 

1.  In  the  first  place,  it  blesses  individuals  by  giving 
to  them  an  elevation  of  character,  otherwise  unat- 
tainable. 

This  is  effected,  not  by  fostering  human  pride  and 
self-consequence. — To  do  this  is  to  curse,  and  not 
bless.— l^ut  It  is  achieved  by  giving,  in  addition  to  all 
the  benefits  which  have  been  enumerated,  to  the  mind 


350  THE  GLORY  OF  DISC.  I.V. 

of  man,  the  clear  and  strong  impress  of  immortality. 
That  it  does  so,  no  one  doubts.  That  truth,  which  the 
wisest  ancient  sages  groped  and  felt  after ^  with  inex- 
pressible anxiety  to  find  it,  is  now  familiar  to  the  most 
unlettered  christian.  Even  children  in  the  sabbath 
schools  now  k?iow,  what  it  immortalized  Socrates  and 
Plato  to  have  rendered  probable.  It  is  because  they 
have  had  the  lessons  of  him,  "  who  spake  as  never  man 
spake,"  for  their  instruction. 

But  to  ascertain  the  full  effect  of  the  christian  reli- 
gion, in  regard  to  the  matter  now  under  consideration, 
it  is  necessary  to  connect  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection 
of  the  body,  with  that  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul ; 
and  to  suppose  that  these  truths  are  fully  believed. 
Let  one,  then,  habitually  realize,  that  he  is  to  hve  for- 
ever ;  that  he  is  capable  of  an  endless  progression  in 
knowledge  and  holiness ;  that  he  is  the  heir  of  eter- 
nity ;  and  that  this  body,  which  is  now  the  instrument 
and  organ  of  his  mind,  instead  of  sleeping  always  in 
kindred  dust,  will  be  raised  by  almighty  power,  and 
rendered  immortal ;  that  he  himself,  as  a  true,  com- 
plete human  being,  may  hold  companionship  with  the 
highest  and  holiest  of  created  beings,  and  communion 
with  their  Lord — let  a  man,  I  say,  daily  bring  home  to 
his  "  business  and  bosom,"  such  thoughts  as  these,  and 
they  will  cast  his  whole  character  in  the  mould  of 
heaven,  and  give  him,  even  in  this  world,  the  port  and 
bearing  of  an  angel  of  light.  What,  in  all  the  range 
of  human  knowledge  and  thought,  is  so  well  suited  to 


i^mc.  IX.  I'HK  GOSPEL.  IrJSl 

raise  man  above  every  thing  low,  and  sensual,  and  gro 
veiling  ?  Accordingly,  if  one  will  go  into  the  humblest 
habitation  of  the  truly  pious,  he  will  find,  amidst  po- 
verty, and  toil,  and  self-denial,  persoris  familiar  \vith 
high  and  noble  thoughts,  and  enterprizes  in  real 
grandeur  and  magnificence,  going  far  beyond  the  che- 
rished purposes  and  meditations  of  the  great  ones  of 
the  earth.  I  have  seen  the  tenant  of  a  log-cabin,  with 
a  heart  large  enough  to  embrace  the  world,  and  aspira- 
tions as  lofty  as  heaven.  Every  generation  has  ad- 
mired the  subhmity  of  the  saying  of  the  ancient  artist, 
when  he  said,  "  I  paint  for  eternity."  '  There  are  tens 
of  thousands  of  obscure  and  humble  christians,  who, 
Avith  a  far  loftier  spirit,  and  more  dilated  conceptions, 
are  saving  every  day,  we  live  foi'  eteriiity. 

And  yet  there  are  not  a  few,  I  fear,  among  us,  who 
try  to  persuade  themselves  and  to  seduce  others  into  the 
behef,  that  they  are  creatures  of  ephemeral  existence — 
that  no  morning  is  to  rise  after  the  night  of  death ;  that 
no  hght  is  to  dawn  on  the  deep  darkness  of  the  grave  ! 
Merciful  Father,  what  desperation  of  guilt  drives  thy 
creatmes  to  renounce  the  highest  honours  of  their  na- 
ture ;  and  while  thine  own  hand  has  stamped  immor- 
tahty  on  their  brow,  to  grovel  in  the  dust,  and  claim 
kindred  with  the  worm  ! 

2.  In  the  next  place,  the  religion  of  the  Bible  has 
conferred  on  domestic  life  its  choicest  blessings. 

It  has  done  this  by  destroying,  wherever  it  has  gone, 
the  endless  and  harassing  evils  of  polygamy :  but  espe- 


,io2  THE  CfLORY  OK  DISC.  IX. 

cially,  by  making"  marriage  a  divine  institution. 
It  deserves  particalar  notice,  that  wherever  the  stale  and 
wearisome  clamour  of  priestly  injiuence  is  raised,  one 
of  the  favourite  tliemes  of  reproach  is,  that  marriage 
is  made  a  religious  rite.  And  even  where  infidehty 
preserves  some  show  of  decency,  the  effort  is  made  to 
convince  the  people  (hat  it  is  a  mere  civil  contract.  It 
is  only  when  miserable  creatures  have  gone  to  the  very 
last  degree  of  wickedness,  that  it  is  represented  as  an 
odious  monopoly.  The  reason  of  all  this  is  perfectly 
understood.  The  sacredness  of  marriage  is  the  great 
preservative  of  purity  and  chastity  in  human  society. 
Let  it  be  only  a  civil  contract,  dissolvable  by  mutual 
consent — or  even  let  human  laws  alone  sustain  its  per- 
petuity— and  at  once  there  is  set  to  work  a  cause  of 
evil,  of  uncontrollable  energy,  and  boundless  extent. 
Licentiousness,  too  gross  to  be  described,  would  spread 
its  pollution  through  every  part  of  domestic  and  social 
life ;  all  that  gives  grace  and  dignity  to  woman ; 
every  thing  in  her  that  charms  and  solaces  us  when  we 
retire  from  the  world,  into  the  privacies  of  the  family 
circle,  would  be  blasted  and  consumed  by  the  fierce,  un  - 
hallowed  fues  of  sensuality.  The  son  would  be  igno- 
rant of  his  mother,  the  daughter  of  her  father.  From 
these  desolating  and  horrible  evils,  we  are  preserved  by 
the  sanctity  which  rehgion  gives  to  marriage. 

Hail  wedded  love,  mysterious  law,  true  source 

Of  human  offspring,  sole  propriety 

In  paradise  of  all  things  common  else. 

By  thee  adulterous  lust  was  driven  from  men. 


msc.  IX.  THE  GOSPKL.  Soo 

Amoug  Uie  bestial  herds  to  range  ;  by  lliee 
Founded  in  reason,  loyal,  just,  and  pure, 
Relations  dear,  and  all  the  charities 
Of  father,  son,  and  brother  first  were  known. 

it  is  of  these  charities,  and  all  the  blessed  influences  of  a 
chaste,  hallowed,  and  sanctified  domestic  life,  that  the 
modern  infidelity,  cast  forth  among  us  by  the  con- 
\ailsions  of  Europe,  with  its  callous  heart  and  ruthless 
hand,  would  rob  us.  It  would  persuade  us,  that  our 
long  tried  and  faithful  pastors,  are  knaves  and  impostors ; 
that  the  bands  of  marriage  are  galUng  chains  ;  that  the 
benediction  of  our  nuptial  contract  is  a  piece  of  priestly 
mummery ;  and  that  in  the  midst  of  what  we  have 
always  thought  to  be  true  bhss,  of  our  "  fireside  enjoy- 
ments" and  "  homeborn  happiness,"  we  have  all  along 
been  poor  miserable  slaves  !  Such  are  the  ravings  of 
itinerant  sceptics  : — such  is  the  desperate  fanaticism  of 
Infidelity  ! 

But  to  return :  the  gospel  Wesses  domestic  life  by 
determining  the  relative  situation  of  husband  and  wife, 
of  parent  and  children.  It  settles  the  point,  that  the 
husband  is  the  head  of  the  wife :  but  it  requires  him  to 
love  her  as  he  does  himself,  and  give  her  honour  as  the 
•'•  weaker  vessel."  It  commands  children  at  all  times  to 
render  to  parents  reverence  and  obedience  ;  but  it  forbids 
parents  to  exercise  authority  with  harshness.  It  gives 
one  law  of  love  to  the  Avhde  family  ;  it  sheds  on  them 
its  selectest  influence ;  it  connects  them  all  with  the 
great  family  of  heaven,  and  with  the  hopes  and  glories 
of  eternity.  In  estimating  the  value  of  tliese  blessings 
45 


354  THE  GLORY  OF  DISC.  IX. 

on  domestic  life,  we  are  greatly  assisted  in  forming  a 
just  conclusion,  by  viewing  in  contrast,  the  families  of 
christians  and  heathens. 

In  the  former,  authority  is  tempered  with  love :  wo- 
man takes  her  place  as  the  helpmeet  of  man  :  children 
mingle  affectionate  confidence  with  filial  reverence : 
the  intercourse  of  all  is  free,  easy,  joyous :  their  plea- 
sures are  pme  and  simple :  and  their  hopes  take  the 
lofty  character  of  eternity. 

But  where  Christianity  has  not  exerted  its  kindly 
influences,  woman  is  the  minister  of  man's  pleasure, 
and  his  children  are  slaves.  He  reigns  a  dark  and  stern 
tyrant ;  his  house  is  a  domestic  Bastile,  rather  than  a 
homestead ;  and  is  ruled  by  physical  strength,  instead 
of  the  law  of  love.* 

3.  The  gospel  bestows  its  peculiar  blessings  on 
social  life.  A  community  made  up  of  individuals- 
such  as  the  gospel,  in  its  proper  influences,  forms — 
whose  understandings  are  excited,  whose  conscience  is 
instructed,  and  whose  passions  are  regulated,  must 
indeed  be  happy.  But  on  these  considerations  we  have 
not  time  now  to  dwell. 

I  wish  here  to  notice,  what  1  have  not  seen  stated 
elsewhere,  that  the  power  of  the  gospel  is  great  in  pro- 
ducing real  refinement  and  genuine  politenses,  in  social 
intercourse.     Much  of  the  refinement  of  this  world  con- 


*  It  19  remarkable  tlKit  in  iinniinally  christian  countries,  where  the  Bible  is 
taken  away  from  the  people,  and  its  influences  on  domestic  life  are  unknown, 
females  generally  think  it  a  privilege  rather  than  a  hardship  to  be  placed  in  con- 
vents.   The  reason  is,  they  suffer  so  much  from  the  tyranny  of  the  stronger  sex. 


THE  GOSPEL. 


355 


sists  in  presenting  gross  ideas  in  wliat  are  thought  deU- 
cate  terms.  Wit  is  displayed  by  making  one  feel  as 
disagreeable  and  ridiculous  as  possible,  without  giving 
what  the  laws  of  honour  would  denominate  an  insult. 
And  the  highest  politeness  is  a  mere  mimicry  of  disin- 
terestedness, for  the  purpose  of  insuring  the  greatest 
regard  to  one's  self.  But  the  religion  of  the  Bible  pro- 
duces the  reality,  of  which  the  world  affords  only  a 
sorry  imitation.  By  surrounding  eveiy  human  being 
with  the  glories  of  innuortality,  it  causes  man  to  regard 
his  fellow  with  high  consideration.  By  infusing  its 
own  pure  benevolence,  it  destroys  that  selfishness,  which 
seeks  ease,  indulgence,  or  applause,  at  the  expense  of 
another's  feelings ;  and  it  prompts  the  wish  always  to 
promote  the  comfort  and  happiness  of  those  with  whom 
we  have  intercourse.  By  sanctifying  the  heart;  by 
implanting  the  love  of  holiness ;  and  by  fixing  man's 
thought  and  affection  on  "  whatsoever  things  are  pure, 
whatsoever  things  are  lovely,  whatsoever  things  are  of 
good  report,"  it  raises  him  above  that  sensuality,  which 
pollutes  the  mind,  and  which  retains  its  proper  charac- 
ter, whether  it  comes  through  the  channel  of  coarse  and 
vulgar  ribaldry,  or  the  polite  vocabulary  of  licentious- 
ness. 

The.  religion  of  the  gospel  alone,  purifies  all  the  foun- 
tains of  social  life  ;  and  produces  that  uniform  gentle- 
ness, and  meekness,  those  "  kind  designs  to  serve  and 
please,"  which  give  the  highest  charms,  and  the  mosi 
enchanting  graces  to  social  intercourse. 


.Sr>(i  THE  GLORY  OF  DISC.  IX. 

4.  The  plan  which  I  have  adopted,  obhges  me  to 
advert  to  the  benefits  conferred  by  the  rehgion  of  Christ, 
on  man  in  the  relations  of  civil  life.  Its  value  in 
giving  new  sacredness  to  "  an  oath  for  confirmation  ;" 
in  clothing  iiuman  laws  with  a  power,  which  no  human 
legislature  could  give ;  its  peculiar  appropriateness  to  a 
free  government,  in  which  the  rights  of  all  are  recog- 
nised ;  and  in  which  habits  of  self-government  in  the 
citizen  are  of  unspealcable  importance :  are  topics  of 
common  discussion  ;  and  have  just  for  a  moment  been 
brought  to  view  in  this  place,  for  the  purpose  of  assistmg 
the  hearer  in  forming  an  adequate  view  of  the  value  of 
the  gospel. 

I  cannot,  however,  do  justice  to  my  own  feelings, 
without  declaring  it  to  be  my  full  conviction,  that  com- 
plete civil  and  political  liberty,  such  as  we  understand  it 
to  be,  never  has  been,  and  never  will, — nay,  never  can 
be  enjoyed  by  any  people,  without  the  influences  of  pure 
Christianity.  Sure  I  am,  that  in  the  most  celebrated 
republics  of  the  heathen  world,  there  was  nothing  like 
the  degree  of  tme,  rational,  well  balanced,  and  well 
secured  freedom,  which  is  now  the  birthright  of  the 
people  of  this  country.  I  am  equally  sure,  that,  if  ever 
the  day  should  come,  when  the  religion  of  the  gospel 
shall  cease  to  be  the  prevalent  religion  of  this  nation, 
the  splendid  temple  of  Liberty,  erected  by  the  labour 
and  skill  of  our  forefathers,  and  cemented  by  their  blood, 
will  be  shattered  to  pieces  by  a  dreadful  and  wide-wast- 
ing  convulsion,  and   scattered  over  the  surrounding 


I'HE  GOSPEL. 


desolation,  as  the  polished  fragments  of  the  great  city  of 
the  desert,  are  scattered  over  the  burning  sands  of  Syria. 
And  I  feel  that  while  I  am  attempting,  in  this  humble 
manner,  to  discharge  the  oflfices  of  a  christian  minister, 
I  am  at  the  same  time  performing  one  of  the  most  sacred 
duties  of  a  citizen — contributing,  according  to  my  feeble 
abiUty,  to  perpetuate  the  institutions  of  my  country. 

But  while  I  forbear  to  enter  into  the  interesting  sub- 
jects, at  which  we  have  just  glanced,  there  is  one  par- 
ticular topic,  which  I  cannot  whoUj'^  pass  over.  The 
pure  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  affords  the  only  secu- 
rity for  the  preservation  of  the  dearest  right  of  a 
freeman,  his  religious  liberty. 

Human  legislators  may  make  laws  for  the  "  security 
of  religious  freedom,"  and  they  may  repeal  them.  For 
myself,  if  the  majority  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States  were  decidedly  anti-christian,  I  could  not  rely  on 
the  law  of  the  land  to  protect  my  life  and  person,  while 
pursuing  what  I  do  now  beheve  to  be  a  course  of 
christian  duty.  If,  for  very  shame,  the  constitution 
should  remain  unaltered,  public  sentiment  would  not 
enforce  that  part  of  it,  which  guaranties  my  christian 
Uberty.  We  see  enough  of  the  bitterness  of  mfidelity, 
we  hear  enough  of  its  "  deep"  curses,  to  assure  us,  that 
its  prevalence  would  speedily  tear  down  our  altars,  and 
desecrate  our  chmches.  It  was  in  no  remote  period  of 
the  world,  nor  was  it  among  a  savage  and  ignorant  peo- 
ple, that  Infidelity,  with  the  malignity  of  a  fiend,  ad- 
judged the  ministers  of  religion,  without  trial  or  defence, 


:^5b  THR  GLORY  OF  DISC.  1\. 

to  death  on  the  lamp-post.  Its  spirit  is  unaltered.  And 
even  now,  when  restrained  by  law,  and  by  public  sen- 
timent enforcing  that  law,  we  can  hear  its  growl,  like 
that  of  a  tiger  in  a  cage.  The  very  freedom  of  speech, 
which  it  owes  to  the  influence  of  Christianity  on  this  na- 
tion, is  employed  in  calumniating  the  Bible,  and  tra- 
ducing all  who  believe  its  sacred  truths.  Christians 
have  tokens  enough  to  show  them  what  they  may  ex- 
pect, if  Infidelity  should  gain  the  ascendancy. 

It  would  be  easy  to  trace,  in  ten  thousand  ways,  the 
influences  of  the  gospel  in  securing  Uberty  of  religion. 
It  clearly  enough  denies  to  man  any  authority  over  the 
conscience.  It  makes  religion  a  personal  concern,  and 
teaches  every  one,  that  he  is  to  give  account  for  him- 
self to  his  Maker.  It  comes  to  every  individual,  and 
plainly  tells  hhn  what  he  is  to  believe  and  to  do,  that  he 
may  be  saved,  and  solemnly  charges  him  to  judge  of  the 
doctrine  of  every  religious  teacher,  by  the  plain  truths, 
which  are  continually  before  him.  And  while  it  thus  in- 
forms the  conscience,  and  makes  man  feel  the  inexpres- 
sible value  of  religious  freedom,  it  wakens  up  a  spirit, 
which  human  authority  cannot  put  down — which  hu- 
man power  cannot  subdue — which  rises  in  its  strength 
against  the  whole  apparatus  of  tyranny,  and  looks  un- 
daunted on  the  stake  and  the  wheel,  the  faggot  and  the 
fire.  Since  men  first  felt  that  they  had  a  right  to  free- 
dom of  conscience,  they  who  have  maintained  this  right 
at  every  peril,  amidst  all  reproaches  and  sufferings,  have 
been   devoted,  evangelical  christians.      Philosophical 


DISC.  1\.  THE  GOSPEL.  359 

Statesmen,  borrowing  without  acknowledgment,  their 
thoughts  from  pious  christians,  have  reasoned  well  re- 
specting the  abstract  right,  when,  in  perfect  security, 
they  have  had  nothing  to  interrupt  the  course  of  their 
meditations :  but  they  were  christians^  who  offered 
themselves  willingly  to  the  sword,  and  gave  their  bodies 
to  the  flames,  that  they  might  thus  seal  their  testimony 
to  the  truth,  that  there  is  no  lord  of  conscience,  but  the 
eternal  Sovereign  of  the  universe.  If  any  doubt  of 
these  facts,  let  them  tell  us  where,  in  all  the  world,  has 
religion  been  free,  while  the  gospel  has  been  unknown, 
or  kept  back  from  the  people.  In  every  other  case^ 
the  miserable  and  oppressed  people  have  thought,  that 
the  rehgion  of  the  state  was  good  enough  for  them. 

I  have  thus  shown  that  the  gospel,  by  its  adaptation 
to  all  climates,  all  ages,  aU  conditions  of  human  Ufe, 
and  to  all  the  faculties  of  the  human  mind,  dispenses 
blessings,  which  can  be  bestowed  in  no  other  way, 
through  every  department  of  human  life ;  and  that  it 
EXCELS  IN  GLORY,  because,  from  its  very  nature,  it  is 
unchangeable,  and  confers  its  benefits  without  mea- 
sure, and  without  end,  to  aU  who  are  willing  to  receive 
them.  Its  great  design  is  to  pardon,  to  sanctify,  and  to 
save  sinners.  It  finds  them  in  guilt  and  misery ;  takes 
them  "out  of  the  horrible  pit  and  the  miry  clay;" 
places  them  in  the  king's  highway  of  holiness ;  and 
scatters  its  blessings  all  along  the  path,  by  which  it  con- 
ducts them  to  heaven. 


360  THE  GLORY  OF  DISC.  IX  . 

But,  after  all,  the  gospel  is  a  system  but  partially 
known  to  us.  Our  faculties  are  feeble ;  and  this  dark 
world  is  between  us  and  that  glorious  orb  of  light.  I 
am  just  holding  up  my  little  spy-glass  for  you  to  look 
through  :  and  you  see — O  !  do  you  not  see,  all  round 
the  dim  edge  of  this  globe,  the  breakings  over,  and  the 
streamings  of  a  light,  which  shows  what  is  behind? 
The  brief  hour  of  this  eclipse  will,  however,  soon,  very 
soon,  pass  away  ;  and  then  a  flood  of  glory  will  pom-  on 
you,  and  your  fellow-chiistians  around  you.  All  will 
be  transformed  into  the  same  image.  And  when  that 
great  multitude,  which  no  man  can  number,  gathered 
out  of  all  nations,  and  kindreds,  and  people,  and 
tongues,  shall  stand  before  the  throne,  and  before  the 
Lamb ;  and  when  he  shall  be  glorified  in  his  saints,  and 
be  admired  in  all  that  believe ;  when  cherubim  and 
seraphim  shall  crowd  around  to  learn  new  wonders 
concerning  their  Lord,  and  the  sinnei'^s  Saviour,  and 
shall  behold  them  reflecting  his  light,  resplendent  in  his 
image — then,  and  not  till  then,  shall  we  form  some  ade 
<)uate  (conception  of  the  glory  of  the  gospel. 


DISCOURSE  X. 


THE  PROVINCE  OF  REASON  IN  MATTERS  OF  RELIGION. 


Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto  my  feet,  and  a  light  unto  my  path.— Let  my  cry 
come  before  thee,  O  Lord :  give  me  understanding  according  to  thy  word.— 
Teach  me,  O  Lord,  the  way  of  thy  statutes ;— give  me  understanding,  and  I 
shall  keep  thy  word.— Psalm,  cxix.  105. 169.  3.3, 34. 


The  pious  king  of  Israel  is  here  presented  before 
us,  as  conscious  of  his  own  ignorance,  and  desirous  of 
receiving  divine  instruction.  Though  he  was  pos- 
sessed of  high  mental  endowments,  and  though,  com- 
pared with  others,  he  was  distinguished  for  his  acquisi- 
tions in  spiritual  knowledge ;  he  yet  felt  himself  to  be 
a  mere  learner,  and  devoutly  apphed  to  God  as  hi$ 
teacher. 

I  shall  consider  this  example  of  David  as  casting  hght 

on  the  important  subject,  which  has  been  assigned  to 

me  for  the  present  occasion  ;  namely,  the  province  of 

reason  in  matters  of  religion.     If  it  was  suitable  for 

46 


362  THE  PROVINCE  DISC.  X. 

such  a  man  as  David,  to  take  the  place  of  a  learner,  it 
must  be  suitable  for  us. 

Our  merciful  Creator,  who  has  undertaken  to  be  our 
teacher,  gives  us  instruction  by  his  works,  and  by  his 
word.  By  his  works  in  the  material  and  in  the  spi- 
ritual world,  he  teaches  us  those  truths  which  constitute 
Natural  Theology.  By  his  word,  contained  in  the 
Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  he  casts  a 
clearer  light  on  the  truths  of  Natural  Theology,  and- 
in  addition  to  this,  teaches  those  doctrines,  Avhich  con- 
stitute Christianity,  relating  chiefly  to  the  sin  and 
ruin  of  man,  and  to  the  character  and  work  of  the 
Redeemer.  There  is,  moreover,  an  inward,  spiritual 
illumination  and  guidance,  which  God  affords  to  all 
sincere  believers.  The  object  of  this  divine  influence  is, 
not  to  reveal  new  truths  ;  for  since  the  word  of  God  was . 
completed,  this  is  unnecessary ; — but  to  remove  those 
hindrances  to  knowledge  which  are  found  in  the  dis- 
ordered state  of  our  minds,  and  so  to  direct  our  intel- 
lectual and  moral  faculties,  as  to  enable  us  to  under- 
stand and  love  the  spiritual  truths  which  are  already 
revealed. 

Were  God  a  malevolent  being,  we  might  expect  him 
to  make  false  displays  of  himself,  to  lead  us  into  mis- 
taken views,  and  to  make  deception  the  means  of  tor- 
menting us.  But  we  are  so  happy  as  to  believe  and  to 
know,  that  our  God  is  a  God  of  truth,  and  that  all  the 
manifestations  lie  makes  of  himself,  both  in  his  word 
and  works,  arc  worthy  of  perfect  confidence ;  so  that 


«ISC.  X.  OP  REASON.  363 

the  business  which  remains  for  us,  is  to  sit,  as  humble 
learners,  before  our  divine  and  all-wise  teacher,  and  to 
receive  instruction  from  him. 

The  subject,  brethren,  on  which  I  am  now  called  to 
address  you,  is  constantly  and  in  a  high  degree  interest- 
ing to  us,  whether  we  meditate,  or  converse ;  whether 
we  seek  knowledge  ourselves,  or  endeavor  to  commu- 
nicate it  to  others.  The  right  use  of  our  reason,  within 
its  proper  province,  ^vill  contribute  to  our  own  welfare, 
and  to  the  welfare  of  our  fellow-men ;  while  using  our 
reason  incorrectly,  or  suffering  it  to  act  out  of  its  pro- 
vince, will  occasion  incalculable  evils  both  to  ourselves 
and  to  others. 

In  this  discussion  I  shall  consider  the  word  reason,  as 
denoting  the  poioer,  generally,  of  apprehending'  truth, 
and  applying  it  to  its  proper  uses  ;-— a  power  which 
distinguishes  man  from  all  other  animated  beings 
around  him,  and  fits  him  for  performing  duties  and 
enjoying  pleasures,  of  which  they  are  totally  incapable. 
I  have  already  suggested  that  which  I  understand  to 
Idc  the  proper  employment  of  reason  in  matters  of  reli- 
gion ;  namely,  to  learn  what  God  teaches ;  to  obtain 
the  knowledge  of  the  facts  and  doctrines  which  he  exhi- 
bits, particularly  those  which  he  exhibits  in  his  word ; 
to  arrange  them  in  a  suitable  order,  and  to  apply  them 
to  theii-  various  uses. 

That  God  is  our  teacher,  and  that  he  communicates 
instruction  by  his  works  and  by  his  word,  is  one  of  the 
first  lessons  which  human  reason  should  learn.     After 


361  THE  PROVINCE  DISC.  X. 

becoming  satisfied  of  this,  we  are  to  make  it  our  object 
to  discover  what  is  the  instruction  which  he  actually 
communicates.  And  as  our  chief  concern  is  with  the 
truths  of  revelation,  our  chief  business  is  to  apply  our- 
selves, in  the  proper  use  of  our  rational  powers,  to  the 
study  of  the  holy  Scriptures. 

The  position  which  I  take  on  this  subject  will  require, 
that  two  things  in  particular  should  be  set  aside,  as  not 
falling  within  the  province  of  reason. 

The  first  is,  attempting  to  originate  truth.  I  will 
explain  my  meaning.  AH  the  elements  of  our  know- 
ledge, all  the  materials  on  which  our  reason  is  to  act. 
are  furnished  for  our  use  in  the  works  and  in  the  word 
of  God.  These  simple  elements  of  knowledge  we  may 
combine  together  with  almost  endless  variations ;  but 
we  can  never  increase  them,  and  should  never  attempt 
in  any  way  to  change  them.  They  are  as  fixed  and 
unalterable,  as  the  attributes  and  laws  of  matter  and 
mind.  To  originate  any  fact,  or  any  doctrine,  is, 
strictly  speakhig,  what  does  not  belong  to  us,  and  what 
human  reason,  however  strong  may  be  its  temptation, 
ought  never  to  undertake.  In  regard  to  many  parts 
of  the  Christian  religion,  the  simple  doctrines  and  facts, 
which  we  learn  from  the  word  of  God,  may  prove  in- 
sufficient to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  curiosity,  or  of  pride ; 
or  they  may  be  liable  to  objections  which  we  cannot 
obviate.  In  such  cases,  after  trying  in  vain  to  discover 
in  the  sacred  volume  the  additional  truth  we  wish  for. 
we  may  be  inclined  to  give  another  direction  to  our 


DISC;  X.  l)K  REAsJOlSi.  365 

intellectual  powers,  and  to  make  an  effort  to  originate 
or  produce  something,  which  shall  afl'ord  the  relief  we 
desue.  The  fertility  of  the  imagination,  instead  of 
being  directed,  as  it  shovild  be,  to  the  illustration  of 
truths  already  known,  may  be  put  to  the  unnatural 
task  of  originating  some  principle, — of  producing  some 
notion,  which  may  supply  or  seem  to  supply  the  morti- 
fying deficiency  of  oiu-  knowledge,  and  enable  us,  at 
least  in  appearance,  to  remove  the  ditiiculties  thrown  in 
our  way.  In  the  disquietude  of  our  minds,  we  may  be 
led  to  suppose,  that,  if  a  certain  principle  could  be  ad- 
mitted, it  would  obviate  all  objections,  and  reconcile  all 
apparent  differences.  After  venturing  thus  beyond  the 
province  of  reason,  the  next  step  is.  to  meditate  often. 
and  with  complacency,  on  the  imaginary  principle,  till 
it  assumes  the  appearance  of  a  reahty,  and  then  to 
beUeve  it.  And  the  next  step  is,  to  contend  for  it, 
though  a  mere  fiction,  as  a  fundamental  truth,  and  to 
expend  immeasurable  zeal  in  support  of  that  which 
owed  its  existence  to  mental  fermentation.  Now  every 
thing  Uke  this, — every  attempt  to  produce  a  new  moral 
or  religious  principle,  or  to  make  any  addition  to  the 
simple  doctrines  and  facts  which  God  has  tausrht  us, 
caiTies  us  at  once  beyond  our  bounds  ;  as  much  so,  as 
an  attempt  to  produce  a  new  principle  or  fact  in  che- 
mistry, or  optics.  Every  attempt  of  this  kind  is  foreign 
to  our  province  as  rational  creatures,  and  is  the  work  of 
a.  vain,  hypothetical  philosophy. 


366  THE  PROVINCE  DISC.  X. 

The  other  thing  which  must  be  set  aside,  as  not  be- 
longing to  the  province  of  reason,  is,  sitting  in  judg- 
ment upon  any  of  the  doctrines  or  facts^  which  God 
makes  known.  If,  in  any  case,  it  is  inconsistent  with 
the  character  of  a  mere  learner,  to  judge  and  decide 
upon  the  truth  and  propriety  of  the  instruction,  which 
his  teacher  gives,  it  is  most  obviously  so  here,  consider- 
ing that  the  learner  is  a  being  of  yesterday,  who  know- 
eth  nothing ;  that  the  subjects  of  instmction  are  vast. 
and  unsearchable,  and  the  teacher  divine.  For  us, 
children  as  we  are,  to  call  in  question  the  dictates  of 
unerring  wisdom  on  such  subjects,  is  presumption  and 
impiety  in  the  extreme. 

The  remarks  I  have  made  may  furnish  a  ready  an- 
swer to  a  question  often  proposed  to  us  by  rationalists. 
"  If,"  say  they,  "  we  are  to  bow  with  such  submission  to 
the  word  of  God,  and  to  receive  so  implicitly  all  its 
doctrines  and  precepts,  and  are  never  at  liberty  to  call  in 
question  the  reasonableness  or  truth  of  any  of  its  dic- 
tates ;  then  what  has  reason  to  do  ?"'  I  reply,  it  has 
every  thing  to  do,  which  falls  within  its  province ;  every 
thing  for  which  it  was  designed  ;  every  thing  to  which 
it  is  competent.  In  the  business  of  receiving  instruc- 
tion, the  human  mind  finds  full  scope  for  all  its  active 
powers.  There  is  no  employment  which  is  more  ho- 
norable to  reason ;  none  which  requires  a  more  dili- 
gent and  intense  application  of  its  energies.  The  sim- 
ple business  of  learning  divine  truth,  or  obtaining  an 
acquaintance  with  revealed  doctrines  and  facts,  is  ex- 


DISC.  X,  OF  REASON.  367 

tensive  and  exalted  enough  to  occupy  forever  the  sub- 
Umest  intelligences  in  the  creation. 

But  iji  pursuing  the  object  I  have  in  view,  I  propose 
more  particularly  to  show,  that  the  province  which  I 
have  assigned  to  human  reason,  corresponds  with  its 
nature ;  and  that  our  confining  it  to  this  work,  will 
conduce  directly  to  the  honor  of  God^  and  to  our  own 
intellectual  and  moral  improvement. 

1.  The  province  I  have  assigned  to  reason,  evidently 
corresponds  ivith  its  nature. 

To  learn  is  an  employment  pecuharly  congenial  to 
the  essential  properties  of  the  human  mind.  An  ac- 
quaintance with  tnith  must,  unless  wickedness  of 
heart  prevent,  be  highly  grateful  to  our  feelings.  It  is 
this  which  reason,  uncorrupted,  would  constantly  crave. 
The  mind,  free  from  wrong  bias,  would  be  ever  press- 
ing after  knowledge ;  would  be  all  ear  to  the  voice  of 
instruction ;  would  constantly  look  round  with  earnest 
desire  for  some  one  to  be  its  teacher.  And  this  desii-C; 
were  the  mind  in  a  right  state,  would  continue  and 
increase,  and  would  lead  every  person  on  earth  to  seek 
for  a  teacher  of  higher  and  higher  qualifications,  and 
at  length,  finding  all  human  instruction  insufficient,  to 
apply  to  the  Father  of  lights,  with  the  humble  prayer. 
Lord.,  give  me  understanding :  guide  me  into  all 
truth. 

For  any  one  to  suppose,  that  the  mind  is  capable  ot 
knowing  thuigs  by  its  own  inherent  light,  would  be  a 
great  and  palpable  error.     It  is  with  our  reason,  as  with 


:j68  THE  PR0V1NCI-:  DISC.  X. 

our  lx)tlily  sight.  The  eye  does  not  see  objects  by  a 
Ught  which  emanates  from  itself.  If  left  without  ex- 
ternal light,  it  would  be  in  darkness  forever.  It  finds 
its  proper  employment,  not  in  creating  the  objects  of  its 
own  vision,  or  the  light  by  which  it  sees  them ;  but 
simply  in  beholding  the  objects  which  God  has  created, 
through  the  medium  of  that  light,  which  God  causes 
to  shine.  And  while  we  are  dependent  upon  the  light 
which  shines  upon  us  from  without  to  enable  us  to  see  ; 
it  is  also  true,  that  the  extent  of  our  natural  vision  is 
increased  to  an  inconceivable  degree  by  the  aid  of  opti- 
cal instmments.  These  instruments  not  only  give 
clearness  to  what  was  seen  obscurely  before,  but  enable 
us  to  discover  a  multitude  of  objects,  which  otherwise 
would  have  been  entirely  beyond  our  ken.  So  it  is  with 
reason,  the  intellectual  eye.  Instead  of  depending  on 
itself,  and  seeing  by  its  own  inherent  light,  it  is  depend- 
ent, even  for  natural  knowledge,  on  the  Father  of 
lights.  For  the  knowledge  of  religion,  it  is  dependent 
in  a  higher  degree.  Where  there  was  only  dim  twi- 
light before,  divine  revelation  has  caused  the  splendor 
of  noon-day.  And  it  has  brought  to  view  a  variety  of 
objects,  and  those  of  the  greatest  moment,  which  must 
have  been  forever  unknown  without  it. 

Every  created,  finite  mind  must,  from  its  very  na- 
ture, be  dependent  for  all  its  knowledge,  on  the  un- 
created, infinite  mind.  While  our  reason  is  duly  sen- 
sible of  this,  and  confines  itself  to  the  business  of 
learning  what  God  reveals ;  its  efibrts  are  all  natural 


DISC.  X.-  OF  RHASOX.  ;>6*l 

and  safe.  But  whenever  it  leaves  the  place  of  a  learner, 
and  undertakes,  by  its  own  power,  to  originate  any  doc- 
trine or  fact ;  it  undertakes  a  work  which  is  unnatural 
and  dangerous,  and  which  will  inevitably  lead  to  felse 
and  hurtfid  conceptions. 

2.  Confining  reason  to  the  province  which  I  have 
now  assigned  to  it,  will  conduce  to  the  honor  of  God. 
He  is  in  fact  the  fountain  of  all  created  intelligence ; 
and  to  acknowledge  him  as  such,  is  only  to  treat  him 
according  to  truth, — to  render  him  the  honor  which  is 
his  due.  But  if  we  cherish  the  feeling,  that  we  can 
know  any  thing  of  ourselves,  and  that  it  is  safe  to  rely 
upon  the  strength  of  our  own  understandmg ;  we  rob 
God  of  his  glory.  Let  our  reason,  then,  always  keep 
the  attitude  of  a  learner.  Let  us  be  aware  that,  pro- 
perly speaking,  we  are  not  in  any  thing  self-taught. 
With  all  lowliness  and  meekness,  let  us  recognize  our 
dependence  on  divine  teaching,  and  gratefully  ascribe 
to  God  the  glory  of  all  our  acquisitions.  And  let  us 
tonsider  how  greatly  we  shall  dishonor  the  Father  of 
lights,  if  we  neglect  that  clear  display  of  heavenly 
truth,  which  he  has  made  in  his  word,  and  are  perpetu- 
ally running  after  the  phantoms  of  imagination,  or  the 
dreams  of  a  delusive  philosophy. 

3.  Confining  our  reason  to  the  work  which  I  have 
assigned  to  it,  v/ill  conduce  directly  to  intellectual  im- 
provement. 

An  acquaintance  with  the  truths  of  religion  will  en- 
large and  elevate  our  understandings  ;  and  it  will  pro- 
47 


;i70  A'Hii  PKovJiNcj;  uiac.  x. 

diice  tliis  effect  in  a  much  higher  degiee,  than  our  ac- 
quaintance with  objects  of  inferior  vahie.  But  there  is 
no  way  for  us  to  become  acquainted  with  the  truths  of 
rehgion,  except  by  learning  them  of  our  divine  teacher, 
in  the  use  of  tlie  means  which  he  has  appointed.  We 
arc  in  his  school ;  and  the  improvement  of  our  intellec- 
tual powers  will  be  in  proportion  to  the  docility  and 
earnestness  with  which  we  attend  to  liis  instructions. 
He  who  is  the  most  teachable  and  dihgent,  who  keeps 
himself  at  the  greatest  distance  from  whatever  is  beyond 
the  province  of  a  learner,  and  attains  to  the  clearest  ap- 
prehension of  the  simple  tiTiths  which  are  revealed, 
will  raise  his  intellectual  character  to  the  highest  de- 
gree of  excellence.  While  he  who  turns  aside  from  his 
proper  work,  and  from  the  impulse  of  an  unbridled  cu- 
riosity, or  from  loftiness  of  heart,  attempts  to  go  beyond 
the  lessons  which  are  taught  bj'^  the  word  and  providence 
of  God,  will  forfeit  his  spuitual  freedom, — will  expe- 
rience a  derangement  of  his  rational  powers,  and  pass 
at  length  into  the  region  of  perplexity  and  darkness. 

I  am  now  speaking  of  a  fact  which  frequently  occurS; 
especially  among  the  more  cidtivated  and  mtelhgent. 
The  mind  is  entangled  with  the  sophistry  of  enor, 
harassed  with  doubt,  or  stupified  vnth  infidelity.  And 
this  perverted  state  of  reason  is  evidently  owmg,  in  a 
great  measure,  to  its  forsaking  its  proper  province,  and 
taking  upon  itself  to  know  what  its  divine  teacher  has 
not  revealed.  The  attempt  is  a  dishonor  to  God,  who 
Uasi  kindly  given  us  our  reason,  and  all  the  instruction 


B1.SC-.  X.  OK  IJEASUiN.  '.>!  I 

which  our  condition  requii-es.  It  is  an  impeachment  ol 
his  wisdom  and  benevolence.  And  as  reason  thus  dis- 
honors its  divine  teacher,  and  proudly  chooses  to  be  its 
own  guide  ;  what  can  be  a  more  righteous  retribution, 
than  that  he  should  abandon  it  to  its  own  blind  im- 
pulses, and  let  it  show  into  what  miserable  extrava- 
gancies it  will  mn,  when  it  breaks  loose  from  his  hand. 
In  this  and  in  other  ways,  God  will  at  length  confound 
the  pride  of  reason,  and  bring  every  high  thought  low. 

4.  Confining  reason  to  its  legitimate  province,  will 
contribute  in  the  highest  degree  to  our  moral  imjyrove- 
ment. 

It  cannot,  we  may  be  sure,  l^e  necessary  to  the  best 
influence  of  any  divine  truth,  that  we  should  originate 
it  by  om*  own  reason.  The  circumstance  of  oiu:  having 
received  it  from  a  divine  teacher  will  rather  enhance 
than  diminish  its  power  to  promote  our  improvement. 
— Fix  your  eyes  upon  the  fair  objects  of  creatioQ  above 
you  and  around  you.  Are  they  less  fair,  or  less  suited 
to  make  a  salutary  impression,  because  they  were  not 
produced  by  your  own  efforts  ? — or  because  the  light  in 
which  you  behold  them  does  not  emanate  from  your- 
selves ?  And  can  we  imagine  that  the  truths  of  reli- 
gion are  less  excellent,  or  less  useful  in  promoting  our 
moral  improvement,  because,  instead  of  being  our  own 
inventions,  they  are  hnplicitly  received  from  the  word 
of  God? 

But  the  point,  to  which  I  wish  you  more  particularly 
to  attend,  is  this:  that  thp.  mornl.  hiflnoirp  wJiirh  is 


At2  THE  PROVINCE  DISC.  A^ 

suited  to  our  condition,  and  which  is  most  likely  to 
be  beneficial  in  promoting  onr  improvement,  is  the 
Infiuence  of  those  very  doctrines  and  facts,  plain  and 
obvious  as  they  are,  which  God  has  m^ade  knoivn  in 
his  word.     Of  these  I  shall  give  a  few  examples. 

What,  then,  is  more  plain  and  intelligible,  and  at  the 
same  time  more  suited  to  give  us  exalted  ideas  of  the 
power  and  majesty  of  God,  than  the  fact,  that  by  his 
almighty  word,  he  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth  ; 
the  simple  fact,  that  he  said.  Let  there  be  light,  let 
there  be  a  ivorld,  a  universe,  and  it  was  so. 

That  God  is  every  where  present,  and  perfectly 
knows  our  actions  and  our  hearts,  is  a  plain,  sunple 
truth,  level  to  the  capacity  of  a  child.  Yet,  when 
clearly  apprehended  and  believed,  it  exerts  a  mighty 
and  most  salutary  influence  over  the  mind  of  man.  It 
repels  temptation,  subdues  the  power  of  sin,  and  excites 
(o  diligence  and  fidelity  in  the  service  of  God. 

Take  another  doctrine.  Christ,  ivho  is  over  all, 
God  blessed  forever,  became  man,  and  died  for  our 
sins.  This  doctrine,  as  might  easily  be  shown,  has  a 
direct  relation  to  all  the  duties  of  the  Christian  religion. 
And  we  find  that  whenever  the  apostles  would  most 
powerfully  excite  men  to  diligence  in  doing  the  will  of 
God,  or  to  patience  and  meekness  in  suffering  the  evils 
of  life ;  they  present  the  fact,  that  Christ  died  for  us, 
as  the  motive. 

One  more  example  will  suffice.  All  the  dead  shall 
he  rnised  at  the  last  day,  and  shall  7-eceive  according 


DP  REASON. 


:^78 


to  what  they  have  done,  whether  it  he  good  or  had. 
This  doctrine,  as  set  forth  in  the  Scriptures,  has  a 
power  over  the  mind,  which  language  is  not  adequate 
to  describe.  It  administers  the  highest  comfort  or 
alarm,  and  affords  the  most  effectual  aid  in  forming  the 
character  to  purity  and  devotion. 

If  we  pass  in  review  all  that  God  has  made  known 
to  us  ;  the  holy  law  he  has  given  us  ;  the  sin  and  ruin 
of  all  men  in  consequence  of  one  man's  disobedience ; 
the  eternal  purposes  of  God ;  the  Trinity ;  the  whole 
work  of  the  Redeemer  ;  regeneration  by  the  Holy 
Spirit ;  the  perseverance  of  the  saints,  considered  as  a 
duty  on  their  part,  and  a  matter  of  promise  on  God's 
part  ;  and  the  everlasting  retributions  of  the  future 
world ;  we  shall  find,  in  each  case,  that  the  doctrine 
which  produces  the  salutary  effect  is  lUst  that  which 
God  has  clearly  revealed,  and  which  every  person  of 
common  understanding  is  capable  of  knowing.  It  is 
the  belief  of  the  simple  truths,  the  plain,  intelligible 
facts  taught  in  the  Scriptures,  which  has  raised  the 
character  of  the  saints  to  the  highest  elevation ;  has 
given  strength  to  the  weak,  comfort  to  the  afflicted,  and 
freedom  to  the  slaves  of  sin ;  and  has  prepared  the 
people  of  God  for  the  most  glorious  achievements. 

If  then  we  would  most  effectually  promote  our  moral 
improvement,  let  us  keep  our  place  as  learners.  Let 
reason  sit  with  humihty  before  its  heavenly  teacher, 
boasting  of  no  power,  and  desiring  no  honor,  but  that 
of  receiving  instruction  from  him. 


.{74  J"HE  PROVINGK  DISC.  X. 

But  I  have  a  farther  remark ;  namely,  that  hey  on  d 
the  single  business  of  learnings  arranging,  and 
applying  to  their  proper  uses,  the  obvious  truths 
which  God  has  revealed  to  us,  all  the  efforts  of  rea- 
son will  be  totally  unavailing.  Beyond  the  simple 
doctrines  and  facts  which  God  has  taught  us,  there  is 
nothing  suited  to  our  capacity  ;  nothing  which  we  are 
capable  of  understanding,  or  of  making  subservient  to 
tlie  purposes  of  life. 

Take,  for  example,  the  truth  suggested  above,  that 
God  is  the  Creator  of  all  things.  In  relation  to  this 
simple  truth  men  have  had  a  variety  of  specvdation^. 
They  have  inquired,  how  God  creates  ;  how  he  make^ 
something  out  of  nothing ;  how  the  eternal  Spirit  acts 
upon  matter,  and  upon  created  minds ;  and  how  his 
agency  in  preserving  differs  from  his  agency  in  cre- 
ating. But  such  inquiries  pertain  to  subjects  beyond 
the  sphere  of  our  knowledge,  and  give  rise  to  difficulties 
which  we  are  not  competent  to  solve.  AU  speculations 
and  theories,  beyond  the  simple  fact,  that  God  created 
the  heavens  and  the  earth,  are  useless,  and  may  be 
entirely  dismissed  without  occasioning  any  loss  in  re 
gard  to  moral  improvement. 

Men  have  also  pushed  their  inquiries  respecting  thf 
omniscience  of  God  beyond  the  hmits  of  their  know- 
ledge.— How  does  God's  understanding  differ  in  its 
nature  from  ours  ?  How  can  he  know  the  whole  sue 
cession  of  events  from  the  commencement  of  creation 
through  everlasting  ages,  without  any  succession  or 


tl-'   RKAfiUN. 


375 


change  of  thoughts  in  his  own  inind  ?  How  can  he 
give  particular  attention  to  all  the  objects  in  the  uni- 
verse, without  distraction,  and  without  weariness? — 
Such  inquiries  are  easily  made  ;  but  who  can  answer 
them  ?  What  is  peculiar  to  the  inteUigence  of  God  m 
distinction  from  human  intelligence,  can  be  known 
only  to  God  himself. 

The  same  remarks  are  applicable  to  the  doctrine, 
that  Christy  who  was  God,  mid  hy  whom  all  things 
were  made,  became  man,  and  died  for  our  sins. 
Men  have  been  stimulated,  by  an  unsanctified  curiosity, 
io  extend  theii'  knowledge  Ijeyond  this  simple  truth, 
and  to  inquire  how  it  is  that  the  Son  of  God  can  also 
be  God ;  how  he  can  be  a  distmct  person  from  the 
Father,  and  yet  possess  the  same  divine  nature ;  how  it 
can  be  consistent  with  the  immutable  principles  of  law 
and  justice,  for  God  to  substitute  an  mnocent  being  in 
the  place  of  the  guilty,  and  inflict  overwhelming  evil 
upon  him  for  theii'  offenses  ;  and,  if  the  human  nature 
and  divine  were  united  in  the  person  of  the  sufferer, 
how  he  could  suffer  as  a  man,  and  yet  not  suffer  as 
God.  Inquiries  like  these  lead  us  into  a  region,  in 
which  our  reason  can  have  no  hght,  and  which  it  can- 
not even  attempt  to  explore,  without  the  danger  of  being 
bewildered  and  lost. 

In  Uke  manner  we  can  raise  questions,  to  which 
human  reason  is  not  able  to  reply,  respecting  the  iden- 
tity of  the  resmrection  body  with  the  body  which  died ; 
respecting  the  difference  between  the  state  of  the  soul 


370  THE  PROVINCE  DISC.  X. 

before  the  resurrection,  and  after ;  the  use  which  wilt 
be  made  of  the  senses,  and  other  bodily  powers,  in  the 
future  world;  the  exact  manner  in  which  God  will 
have  intercourse  with  the  saints,  and  they  with  one 
another ;  and  the  particular  place  of  happiness  for  the 
saints,  and  of  suffermg  for  sinners.  On  such  topics  as 
these,  reason  cannot  form  clear  conceptions,  or  free 
itself  from  difficulties  ;  and  its  attempting  to  do  so  ,vill 
only  involve  it  in  greater  darkness. 

The  same  remarks  would  apply  to  moral  agency. 
That  we  are  moral  agents,  under  law,  and  bound  in 
duty  to  obey,  and  that  we  are  justly  acccountable  to 
God,  is  a  plain  and  certain  fact,  taught  by  our  own 
consciousness,  and  by  the  Scriptures  ;  and  it  is  a  fact  of 
vast  moment,  being  itself  a  powerful  motive,  and  mix- 
ing as  it  does  with  all  other  motives,  and  investing 
them  with  the  highest  degree  of  influence.  But  in 
regard  to  moral  agency,  an  inquisitive  mind  can  easily 
raise  questions  which  human  wisdom  has  no  power  to 
answer,  and  with  which  rational,  accountable  beings 
have  really  nothing  to  do.  They  are  questions  of  no 
value,  as  the  investigation  of  them  has  never  conduced, 
and  never  will  conduce,  in  the  smallest  degree,  to 
increase  our  sense  of  obligation,  or  to  render  us  more 
penitent,  or  more  obedient. 

In  a  word,  this  pressing  after  knowledge  beyond  the 
simple  doctrines  and  facts  which  God  has  revealed,  is 
a  rash  adventure,  in  which  reason  must  forever  fail. 
And  all  attempts  to  acquire  such  knowledge  are  totally 


OF  REASON. 


377 


useless,  having  no  tendency  to  improve  the  understand- 
ing, or  the  heart.  Accordingly  we  find  that  inspired 
men,  who  aimed  not  to  gratify  an  unhallowed  curiosit}', 
but  to  teach  what  would  be  beneficial  to  the  world,  had 
nothing  to  do  with  matters  of  curiosity,  or  with  ques- 
tions which  lead  into  the  field  of  hypothetical  reasoning, 
— they  had  nothing  to  do  with  such  questions,  except 
to  stigmatize  them  as  science  falsely  so  called,  and  to 
turn  away  from  them. 

But  I  must  say,  moreover,  that  any  attempt  of  ours 
to  go  beyond  the  simple  doctrines  and  facts  which  we 
are  taught  by  the  word  and  providence  of  God,  will  not 
only  prove  useless,  but  will  directly  hinder  the  in- 
fluence of  divine  truth. 

Such  an  employment  will  so  occupy  and  engross  the 
powers  of  our  minds,  that  we  cannot  attend  as  we  ought 
to  what  God  has  actually  revealed.  I  am  greatly  mis- 
taken, if  it  is  not  a  general  fact,  that  those  who  indulge 
a  fondness  for  abstruse,  philosophical  research,  in  mat- 
ters of  religion,  experience  a  diminution  of  attachment 
to  plain,  evangelical  truth,  and  a  diminution  of  its 
sanctifying  influence  in  their  own  hearts.  Look  at  the 
history  of  the  church  in  past  ages,  and  see  in  how  many 
lamentable  instances  the  search  for  novelties  in  specu- 
lative theology,  or  the  effort  of  a  bold,  active  intellect  to 
find  out  a  philosophical  solution  for  the  difficulties 
which  attend  the  doctrines  of  revelation,  has  chilled  the 
benevolence  and  piety  of  Christians,  and  marred  their 
whole  character.  Now  why  should  wc  engage  in  pur- 
48 


378  THE  I'ROVINCE  J>1SC.  X. 

suits  so  mistaken,  and  so  perilous  ?  Why  should 
reason  abandon  its  proper  work,  wander  away  from  its 
province,  and  instead  of  following  the  true  light  from 
heaven,  yield  itself  up  to  its  own  bhnd  impulses  ? 

The  consequences  of  pursuing  inquiries  beyond  the 
proper  bounds,  and  of  giving  a  disproportionate  atten- 
tion to  matters  of  speculation,  may  be  illustrated  by  a 
case  in  common  life. — A  sick  man  receives  the  best 
medical  advice  as  to  tlic  treatment  of  his  disease.  But 
while  making  use  of  the  medecine  prescribed  by  the 
physician,  he  engages  so  eagerly  in  mvestigating  its 
nature  and  properties,  and  indulges  such  a  prying,  rest- 
less curiosity  to  know  philosophically  hoiD  and  why  it 
produces  the  efiect  intended,  that  he  experiences  no 
kind  of  advantage  from  it.  At  length  he  learns,  that 
if  he  would  be  successful  in  his  efforts  to  recover  his 
health,  he  must  dismiss  all  his  restless  specidations,  and 
with  quietness  of  mind,  and  confidence  in  his  physician, 
just  take  the  medicine,  and  leave  it,  undisturbed,  to 
produce  its  appropriate  effect.  So  as  to  divine  truth, 
which  our  heavenly  Physician  has  appointed  to  be  the 
means  of  remedying  our  spiritual  diseases.  If  we 
would  1)6  benefited  by  it,  we  must  receive  it  in  its  scrip- 
tural simplicity.  We  must  be  as  little  children,  sensi- 
ble of  our  ignorance,  confiding  implicitly  in  the  wisdom 
of  God,  and  cordially  beUeving  whatever  he  declares. 
Our  subtle  speculations  often  disturb  the  operation  of 
divine  truth,  and  diminish,  if  they  do  not  prevent,  its 
salutary  effect  on  the  heart. 


aiSC.  X.  OF  REASON.  379 

Consider  then,  brethren,  how  great  our  mistake  must 
be,  if  we  depart  from  our  proper  province,  and,  instead 
of  confining  ourselves  to  the  consideration  of  the  simple 
doctrmes  and  facts  which  God  has  revealed,  go  into 
those  abstruse  inquiries,  which  lead  beyond  the  limits  of 
human  knowledge.  If  we  do  this  in  only  a  small  de- 
gree, we  shall  certainly  sustain  an  injury  ourselves,  and 
occasion  injury  to  others.  How  then  must  it  be,  if  we 
make  such  inquiries  the  chief  object  of  our  attention, 
never  satisfied  with  the  plain  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  but 
forever  pressing  our  minds  into  metaphysical  subtilties '? 
If  we  do  this,  our  religion  cannot  be  healthy  and 
thriving.  Long  experience  shows,  that  piety  can  no 
more  grow  upon  dry  speculations,  than  a  hungry  man 
can  be  nourished  by  analyzing  food  as  a  chemist,  in- 
stead of  eating  it. 

But  the  greatest  mistake  of  all,  is  the  practice  of 
introducing  philosophical  discussions  into  the  pulpit. 
Whatever  may  be  our  private  inclination  or  taste,  when 
we  stand  before  public  assemblies  as  ministers  of  Christ, 
we  must  preach  the  word  of  God,  must  exhibit  the 
simple  truths  of  the  Bible.  Castmg  into  the  shade  the 
primary  doctrines  of  revelation,  and  giving  prominence 
to  the  deductions  of  speculative  reason,  has,  in  all  past 
ages,  been  a  great  impediment  to  the  prosperity  of  the 
church,  and  the  progress  of  Christianity  in  the  world. 
While  listening  to  some  men  who  are  invested  with  the 
sacred  office,  I  say  v/ithin  myself, — thei/  may,  for 
might   I  knoiv,  he    inctaphT/siciatis   and   philoso- 


380  THE  PROVINCE  DISC.  X, 

jthers  ;  hut  I  am  sure  they  are  not  ministers  of  the 
gospel.  The  preaching  of  such  men  is  ahnost  any 
thing-,  rather  than  a  clear  exhibition  of  the  doctrines  of 
the  cross.  Even  as  to  those  evangehcal  truths,  which 
they  occasionally  teach, — they  seem  to  believe  them, 
and  to  teach  them,  not  so  much  because  they  find  them 
in  the  Bible,  as  because  they  are  able,  or  think  they  are 
able  to  deduce  them  from  the  principles  of  reason. 

On  this  subject,  I  make  my  appeal  to  the  actual 
experience  of  Christians.  Through  all  their  mental 
states,  at  the  commencement  and  during  the  progiess  of 
their  piety,  that  which  makes  salutary  impressions,  is 
plain  scripture  truth.  It  is  this  which  awakens  the 
dinner  from  his  slumbers,  and  shows  him  his  guilty, 
wretched  state.  It  is  this,  which  leads  him  to  repent 
and  believe ;  and  which  excites  his  love,  his  submission, 
his  obedience,  and  devotion.  It  is  this,  which  supports 
him  in  aflliction,  and  fills  him  with  joy  in  the  near 
views  of  death  and  eternity.  The  excellent  Dr.  Watts 
after  having  indulged  himself  in  a  great  variety  of  fruit- 
less speculations  on  the  subject  of  rehgion,  penitently 
confessed  his  error,  and  prayed  for  divine  forgiveness ; 
and  when  he  came  to  lie  on  a  bed  of  sickness,  said, 
that  a  few  simple,  easy  truths  of  the  gospel  toere  all 
that  he  found  to  be  of  any  value  to  him  ;  and  he 
resolved  that,  if  his  life  was  spared,  he  would  study 
the  Bible  more,  and  spccidate  less. 

Is  it  not  generally  the  case,  that  in  proportion  as 
Christians  believe  and  love  the  plain  truths  of  God's 


DISC.  X.  OP  REASON.  381 

word,  and  have  their  hearts  duly  afTccted  with  them, 
they  are  disindined  to  enter  the  field  of  abstruse  inves- 
tigation ?  Suppose  we  were  zealously  engaged  in  any 
of  those  metaphysical  incjuiries  which  have  been  inter- 
esting to  men  of  speculative  habits ;  and  suppose  in 
the  midst  of  this  employment,  God  should  tell  us  for  a 
certainty,  that  we  had  but  a  few  days  to  live ;  how 
quickly  should  we  dismiss  our  useless  speculations,  and 
fix  our  thoughts  on  the  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  on  the  doctrines  of  his  gospel !  And  how  quickly 
should  we  do  this,  if  God  should  appear  in  his  glory  to 
build  up  Zion ;  if  he  should  display  the  omnipotence 
of  his  Spirit  in  the  conviction  of  sinners,  and  the  in- 
quiry of  multitudes  should  come  to  us,  "  What  shall  we 
do  to  be  saved  ?"  If  you  wish  to  know  what  is  the  best 
employment  of  reason  in  matters  of  rehgion,  inquire 
how  Brainerd  and  Edwards  and  Whitfield  used  it, 
when,  in  the  midst  of  a  revival,  they  instructed  and 
warned  men  day  and  night  with  tears.  Nay,  rather 
inquire  how  Paul  and  Peter  used  it,  and  most  of  all, 
how  Jesus  used  it.  In  them,  surely,  reason  was  di- 
rected right,  and  accomplished  the  purposes  for  which 
it  was  given. 

The  subject  before  us,  my  Christian  brethren,  is  pe- 
culiarly important  at  the  present  day.  In  the  state  of 
the  churches,  of  the  ministry,  and  of  the  community 
at  laige,  there  is  a  mixture  of  what  is  highly  encou- 
raging, with  v/hat  is  dangerous  and  alarming.  Ever- 
lasting thanks  be  to  God  our  Saviour  for  all  the  success 


SSS"  THE  PROVINCE  DISC.  X. 

wliich  lias  crowned  tlie  labors  of  his  ministers,  and  for 
all  the  prosperity  of  the  churches,  in  every  part  of  this 
favored  land.  Thanks  to  liis  name,  that  he  has  main- 
tained the  cause  of  his  people  amid  so  much  opposition 
from  without,  and  so  many  imperfections  and  divisions 
within.  We  have  numberless  evidences  of  the  divine 
favor,  which  we  ought  never  to  overlook.  But  on  the 
other  hand,  it  would  be  unwise  for  us  to  close  our  eyes 
upon  existing  evils.  And  it  would  be  specially  unsuita- 
ble for  me,  called  as  I  am  to  address  you  on  such 
a  subject,  to  disguise  the  calamities  which  have  in  past 
ages  been  brought  upon  the  church,  or  the  dangers  to 
which  we  are  exposed  at  the  present  day,  from  the  mis- 
taken use  of  reason. 

For  any  man  to  suppose  that  the  sacred  volume, 
which  is  given  us  by  divine  inspiration,  does  not  contain 
an  intelligible  and  perfect  rule  of  faith,  would  be  to 
dishonor  God,  the  author  of  inspiration,  and  to  forfeit 
the  character  of  a  protestant,  and  a  Christian.  If  then 
a  diversity  of  rehgious  opinions  exists  among  us,  some 
of  us  are  certainly  in  the  ^\1•ong ;  and  so  far  as  this  is 
the  case,  it  must  be  that  we  have  not  applied  our  reason 
in  a  right  manner  to  the  study  of  the  Bible .;  and  that 
we  fail  of  understanding  it  correctly  through  our  own 
fault ;  or  else  it  must  be  that  passing  beyond  our  limits, 
we  attempt  to  explore  dark  and  pathless  regions,  or 
plunge  into  unfathomable  depths.  So  far  as  we  study 
the  Bible  with  a  right  state  of  mind,  and  in  a  right 
manner,  and  obtain  a  correct  understanding  of  what  it 


DISC.  X.  OF  REASON.  383 

contains ;  so  far  we  must  be  agreed.  And  if  we  are 
satisfied  with  what  the  Bible  contains,  we  shall  not  be 
disposed  to  spend  our  time  upon  questions  which  it  does 
not  settle ;  and  of  course  such  questions  will  occasion 
no  variance  or  strife. 

See  now,  what  endless  tlifferences  of  opinion  there 
are  in  our  rehgious  community !  And  how  obvious  the 
tendencies  are  to  new  and  still  greater  differences  !  Is 
there  nothing  deserving  blame  in  all  this  ?  Is  it  a  mat- 
ter of  unavoidable  necessity,  that  those  to  whom  God 
has  given  the  faculty  of  reason,  and  a  perfect  rule  to 
guide  its  operations,  should  be  forever  divided,  and  for- 
ever in  a  state  of  coUision  ?  When  He  who  made  us, 
commands  us  to  be  of  the  same  mind  and  judgTnent ; 
is  obedience  whoUy  impracticable  ?  When  Jesus  prayed 
for  the  union  of  his  people,  did  he  consider  their  union 
an  impossibihty  ?  No,  brethren ;  our  union  in  faith  and 
in  love  is  not  an  impossibility.  It  is  an  obvious  and 
important  duty.  It  is  what  our  benevolent  Saviour 
justly  requires,  and  what  the  precious  interests  of  his 
kingdom  imperiously  demand  of  us.  If  then  we  di- 
vide and  contend,  we  act  against  the  will  of  our  blessed 
Lord ;  against  the  spirit  of  his  religion  and  the  welfare 
of  his  church.  And  how  much  may  we  thus  do  to 
blast  our  fairest  hopes  of  the  enlargement  and  glory  of 
Christ's  kingdom ! 

Here  an  interesting  inquiry  arises  in  regard  to  our 
own  obligatioiis.  What  duty  have  wo  to  perform  in 
reference  to  the  ciicumstaaces  of  the  present  day  'I  How 


384  THE  PROVINCE  DISC.  X, 

ominous,  in  some  respects,  these  circumstances  are ! 
Behold  what  indescribable  restlessness  of  mind  exists 
in  relation  to  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  !  What^thirst 
for  novelty  and  change,  shows  itself  in  those  who  re- 
ceive not  the  truth  in  the  love  of  it,  and  in  many  in- 
stances, in  those  who  are  friends  to  Christ,  and  even  in 
those  who  are  called  to  preach  his  gospel ! — a  thiist  for 
novelty  and  change,  which  bids  fair  to  produce  new 
theories  and  sects  in  religion,  as  frequently  at  least,  and 
as  abundantly,  as  the  earth  produces  a  harvest !  What 
an  adventurous,  head-long  spirit  frequently  appears 
among  the  more  intelhgent  and  educated  classes  in 
Europe  and  in  America,  utterly  regardless  of  conse- 
quences, and  brooking  no  guidance  or  control  even  from 
the  word  of  God !  Behold  the  mighty  commotion  in 
the  elements  of  the  intellectual  and  moral  world  !  In 
these  circumstances,  what  duty  is  required  of  us  ?  Es- 
pecially, what  are  avc  called  to  do  in  regard  to  the  mu- 
tual prejudices  and  divisions,  and,  I  must  add,  animosi- 
ties too,  which  exist  among  Christians,  and  in  too  many 
instances  even  among  ministers?  We  may  perhaps 
find,  that  we  are  not  wholly  without  blame  in  this  mat- 
ter. Though  we  may  have  done  nothing  duectly  to 
occasion  these  evils,  have  we  done  all  in  our  power  to 
prevent  or  to  remove  them  1  Have  we  scrupulously  ob- 
served the  duections  of  our  benevolent  Saviour,  and 
copied  his  example  ?  And  have  we  cherished  the  feel- 
ings which  were  so  clearly  exhibited  in  his  actions  and 
in  liis  prayers  ?   lie  came  dowii  from  heaven  to  redeem 


DISC.  X.  OF  REASON.  385 

lis  from  destruction ;  and  just  before  he  died  on  the 
cross,  he  lifted  up  his  eyes  to  heaven,  and  said  ; — Holy 
Father,  keep  through  thine  oion  name,  those  whom 
thou  hast  given  me,  that  they  all  may  be  one  ;  as 
thou.  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also 
may  be  one  in  us :  that  the  world  may  believe  that 
thou  hast  sent  me.  And  the  glory  which  thou  gavest 
me  I  have  given  them  ;  that  they  may  be  one,  even 
as  we  are  ona;  I  in  them,  and  thou  in  me,  that  they 
may  be  made  perfect  in  one  ;  and  that  the  woi'ld 
may  knoio  that  thou  hast  sent  me,  and  hast  loved 
them,  as  thou  hast  loved  me.  There  is  nothing  on 
earth,  which  is  more  an  object  of  desue  with  our  gra- 
cious Redeemer,  than  the  cordial  and  entire  union  of 
his  people.  And  there  is  nothing  more  offensive  and 
grievous  to  him,  than  the  want  of  love  and  union 
among  them.  And  as  there  is  at  the  present  day  so 
much  division  and  disaffection  among  his  followers, 
must  they  not  expect  he  will  visit  them  in  righteous 
judgment?  And  what  if  he  should  see  fit  to  manifest 
his  displeasure  by  withholding  from  them  the  kind, 
healing  influences  of  his  Spirit,  and  giving  them  up  to 
still  more  violent  and  bitter  contention  ?  Or  what  if  he 
should  chastise  us,  by  leaving  us  exposed  to  the  most 
pernicious  errors,  both  old  and  new,  yea,  by  suffering  the 
grossest  infidelity  to  take  root  in  our  cities,  and  to  spread 
far  and  wide  through  the  land,  and,  as  a  fearful  token 
of  divine  wrath,  to  lay  waste  this  our  fair  inhe- 
ritance 'I 

11» 


;i8tj  'I'HE  PROVINCK  DISC.  X. 

Think  not,  brethren,  that  I  am  deahng  in  fictions. 
Tlie  apprehensions  I  have  expressed  are  occasioned  by 
lacts, — facts  which  occur  in  every  part  of  our  country, 
as  well  as  in  other  countries.  The  number  is  above 
computation,  of  those  who  cast  off  all  respect  for  the 
holy  Scriptures,  and  all  sense  of  accountableness  to 
God,  and,  as  though  there  was  no  law  and  no  intelli- 
gence superior  to  themselves,  boldly  claim  the  right  to 
follow  without  check  the  guidance  of  their  own  reason, 
and  their  own  inclination.  And  what  multitudes  are 
there,  who  profess  a  respect  for  the  word  of  God,  but 
who  forget  that  they  are  of  yesterday  and  know  nothing, 
and  who  really  show  more  confidence  in  themselves, 
than  in  the  Prophets  and  Apostles,  or  even  in  the  Lord 
from  heaven  !  What  multitudes,  who  forget  that  the 
understanding  is  darkened  and  disordered  by  sin,  and 
that,  in  this  state,  it  is  no  more  fit  to  be  our  guide  in 
lespect  to  truth,  than  the  corrupt  heart  is  in  respect  to 
duty !  In  a  word,  so  many  and  so  powerful  are  the 
causes  of  error  and  apostacy  now  at  work  in  the  state 
of  society,  in  the  hearts  of  men,  yea,  in  the  hearts  of 
Christians  and  ministers  also,  that  unless  a  power  and 
mercy  higher  than  the  heavens  shall  prevent,  these 
American  chmches  may  become  like  the  seven  fallen 
churches  of  Asia,  and  we,  who  are  now  sending  Mis- 
sionaries to  distant  lands,  may  in  process  of  time,  de- 
part so  far  from  the  simplicity  of  the  gospel,  and  sink 
into  such  ignorance  and  error,  that  Missionaries  of  the 
cross  must  be  sent  from  India,  or  from  the  Islands  of 
the  sea.  to  preach  the  gospel  here.     Say  not  that  these 


apprehensions  arise  from  a  dark,  boding  melancholy. 
They  arise  from  a  sober  review  of  the  history  of  hu- 
man nature.  The  mind  of  man  is  so  disordered,  his 
heart  is  so  treacherous  and  cormpt,  that  the  evils  I  have 
mentioned  may  all  be  realities,  as  they  often  have  been 
in  ages  that  are  past.  And  then,  where  will  be  our 
flourishing  churches,  and  our  civil  and  religious  institu- 
tions ?    And  what  will  be  the  heritage  of  our  children  ? 

Such  are  the  evils  which  either  exist  among  us,  or 
threaten  us.  Now,  brethren,  is  there  any  remedy  ?  Is 
there  any  thing  which  can  be  done,  and  which  ought 
to  be  done  by  us,  to  prevent  or  remove  these  tremen- 
dous evils  ?  I  have  no  time  to  go  into  this  inquiry  at 
large.  I  shall  only  hint  at  a  single  view  of  it,  and  thai 
suggested  by  my  particular  subject. 

As  one  means,  then,  of  preventing  or  remedying 
these  portentous  evils,  take  care  to  keep  reason  ivithin  its 
'province^  and  to  use  it  right.  Make  the  Bible  the 
standard  of  your  faith,  and  be  content  with  it.  Lei 
all  the  powers  of  the  mind  bow  to  the  authority  of  the 
word  of  God.  If  men  refuse  to  do  this,  and  rely  upon 
their  own  reason  as  their  ultimate  standard ;  the  stand- 
ard of  each  may  differ  from  the  standard  of  others,  and 
endless  clashings  of  opinion  may  ensue.  But  if  we 
make  the  word  of  God  our  standard :  if,  instead  of 
taking  upon  us  to  teach  the  inspired  writers,  we  suffer 
them  to  teach  us ;  and  while  we  attempt  to  conform 
our  faith  to  their  instructions,  if  we  cherish  the  spiiit 
which  thev  inculcate  :  what  can  hinder  us  from  afirree 


:i8S  THE  PROVINCK  DISC.  X, 

ing'iii  our  religious  opinions,  or  from  loving  one  ano- 
ther? Let  us,  then,  carefully  avoid  such  a  misappUca- 
fion  of  reason  in  matters  of  religion,  as  will  make  us 
in  any  degree  accessary  to  the  prevalence  of  discord 
and  strife  among  the  friends  of  Christ.  Humbly  and 
devoutly  let  us  study  the  saCred  volume,  and  draw^  all 
our  religious  opinions  from  it.  Let  us  be  satisfied 
with  just  what  God  has  taught  us,  making  his  word 
our  guide,  not  only  as  to  the  doctrines  we  shall  behevc, 
but  as  to  all  the  modifications  of  our  faith,  and  the 
manner  of  exhibiting  it,  never  attempting  to  go  above 
it,  or  beyond  it  in  any  respect  whatever.  Never  let  us 
forget  the  weakness  of  our  reason,  and  the  exceeding 
littleness  of  om-  minds.  Always  come  to  the  Bible  with 
perfect  confidence  in  the  divine  wisdom  which  dictated 
it,  and  resolved  to  add  nothing  to  it,  and  take  nothing 
fi-om  it.  Go  just  as  far  as  the  inspired  writers  go,  and 
stop  where  they  stop.  Think  with  them  ;  believe  with 
them ;  speak  with  them  ;  feel  with  them.  When  at 
times  your  reason  calls  forth  its  powers,  such  as  they 
are,  to  estabhsh  the  truths  of  religion,  and  to  obviate 
objections  and  difficulties,  pause  occasionally,  and  in- 
quire, whether  Christ  and  the  Apostles  explained  these 
truths,  and  answered  objections  against  them,  as  you 
do.  If  we  conform  exactly  to  the  measure  of  the  word 
of  God,  beUeving  and  teaching  the  doctrines  and  duties 
of  religion  just  as  they  are  there  presented,  we  shall 
secure  all  that  is  valuable,  and  avoid  whatever  is  hurt- 
ful or  dubious.     Respecting  every  part  of  the  system  of 


I1I8C.  X.  OP  REASOX.  380 

evangelical  truth,  considered  in  a  speculative  light,  a 
fertile  imagination  or  intellect  may  raise  questions,  on 
which  we  are  never  likely  to  agree.  Why  ?  Because 
the  questions  lead  beyond  the  sphere  of  our  knowledge, 
and  of  course  can  never  be  settled  by  argument.  If 
we  push  them  into  notice,  especially  if  we  give  them  a 
prominent  place  in  our  discussions,  difierence  of  opinion, 
and  then  controversy,  will  be  likely  to  be  the  conse- 
quence. And  controversy  on  such  subjects  will,  in  the 
end,  disturb  the  peace  of  the  churches.  What  then  is 
our  duty  ?  What  shall  we  do  with  questions  of  this 
kind  ?    Just  let  them  alone. 

Brethren,  I  would  not  overrate  the  evil  which  I  am 
endeavoring  to  expose.  I  would  by  no  means  make 
the  wrong  use  of  reason  the  only  cause  of  division 
among  Christians,  or  of  injury  to  the  churches.  But 
a  careful  examination  will  show,  that  this  has  been  and 
still  is  one  of  the  most  fruitful  sources  of  dissention  and 
bitterness,  especially  among  the  public  teachers  of  reli- 
gion. Here  then  is  a  case  of  conscience.  There  is  a 
certain  set  of  inquiries  and  speculations,  to  which  I  will 
suppose  some  of  us  are  particularly  attached,  but  which 
lead  beyond  the  province  of  reason,  i.  e.  beyond  the 
sunple  doctrines  of  facts  revealed  in  the  Scriptures.  If 
these  speculations  are  pressed  upon  the  public  attention, 
they  win  in  all  probability  occasion  discord  and  strife. 
Shall  we  then  indulge  our  fondness  for  them,  and  in- 
sist upon  defending  them,  and  press  them  continually 
upon  the  attention  of  the  community'?    Perhaps  we 


/{90  THE  PROVINCK  DISC.  X. 

may  think  them  of  some  real  importance.  But  are 
they  as  important,  as  the  peace  of  the  churches,  the 
union  of  ministers,  and  the  spread  of  the  glorious  gos- 
pel through  the  land,  and  through  the  world  ?  We  will 
then,  at  least,  take  up  these  things  in  their  proper  or- 
der ;  and,  if  we  must  attend  to  abstruse  speculations, 
we  will  attend  to  them  after  we  have  done  all  that  is 
more  important.  When  we  are  urged  by  our  feehngs, 
or  by  circumstances,  to  employ  our  reason  on  the  sub- 
jects referred  to,  we  will  inquire,  whether  there  is  no 
other  duty  which,  in  point  of  importance,  stands  in 
order  before  this.  For  how  can  we  keep  a  good  con- 
science, if  we  turn  aside  fiom  those  momentous  duties 
which  the  God  of  heaven  calls  us  to  perform,  to  specu- 
late and  dispute  about  things  of  little  or  no  value  1  Cast 
your  eye  over  the  history  of  the  church  in  past  ages, 
and  see  what  a  dreadful  waste  of  influence,  what  a  loss 
of  holiness  and  comfort  has  been  occasioned  by  the  mis- 
application and  abuse  of  reason  among  the  followers  of 
Christ.  How  often  have  they  enlisted  in  trifling,  una- 
vailing controversies,  and  expended  upon  them  time 
and  talent  and  labor  sufficient,  with  the  blessing  of 
God,  to  spread  the  gospel  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  !  It 
is  a  fact  which  is  well  known  to  those  who  are  ac- 
quainted with  the  history  of  the  church,  but  which  I 
cannot  mention  without  shame  and  mortification,  that 
almost  all  the  party-spirit,  discord,  and  contention, 
which  have  ever  prevailed  in  Christendom,  have  arisen 
from   the   ambition    or  misguided   zeal  of   Christian 


]-Hs'C.  X.  OF    ItEASON.  391 

ministers,  and  from  their  attempting,  in  the  strength  of 
their  own  reason,  to  he  wise  above  what  is  vyritten. 
The  Lord  grant,  that  this  mistake  of  ministers,  so  in- 
jmious  to  the  interests  of  rehgion,  may  not  be  repeated. 
May  those  who  preach  the  gospel  of  Christ,  do  nothing 
to  hinder  its  success,  and  nothing  to  occasion  triumph 
to  its  enemies.  May  those  who  labor  and  pray  for  the 
arrival  of  the  millennium,  never  do  that  which  will  put 
it  off  to  a  greater  distance.  May  they  never  waste  their 
intellectual  and  moral  powers  to  accompUsh  a  work  in 
which  God  will  never  help  them,  and  neglect  those 
labors  of  love,  which  he  is  ready  to  crown  with  his 
blessing. 

The  course  which  I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  recom- 
mend as  so  important  at  the  present  day,  may  require 
of  us  a  more  diligent  and  devoted  study  of  the  word  of 
God,  than  we  have  been  used  to.  It  may  requue  a 
more  constant  recurrence  to  it  as  the  source  and  stand- 
ard of  our  religious  sentiments.  It  may  require  us  to 
abandon  some  mental  occupations  to  which  we  are 
fondly  attached,  and  some  speculative  theories,  which 
perhaps  our  reason  has  been  proud  of  inventing  or  de- 
fending. And,  my  Christian  brethren,  may  not  this  be 
the  very  labor  and  self-denial,  which  our  Lord  and  Mas- 
ter requiies  of  us,  as  one  of  the  best  means  of  pro- 
moting the  spirit  of  love  and  union,  of  converting  error- 
ists  and  infidels,  and  advancing  all  the  objects  of  pious 
benevolence?  At  the  present  day,  it  is  our  duty  and 
our  privilege  to  engage  in  a  delightful  and  glorious 


;il|2  THE   PROVINCE  DISC.  X. 

work, — the  work  of  studying  more  diligently  and  un- 
derstanding more  perfectly  the  word  of  God  ;  the  work 
of  guiding  the  young,  of  instructing  the  ignorant,  of 
saving  the  lost,  and  of  extending  at  home  and  abroad 
the  reign  of  our  Redeemer.  It  is  a  great  and  blessed 
work,  sufficient  to  occupy  all  our  time,  and  all  our  intel- 
lectual and  moral  powers.  We  have  enough  surely  for 
our  reason  to  do,  without  making  it  the  instrument  of 
rash  and  fruitless  speculation.  Surely,  we  have  suffi- 
cient subjects  of  investigation,  without  those  which 
gender  strife.  And  we  have  surely  sufficient  to  contend 
with,  without  contending  with  one  another. 

And  now,  brethren  and  friends,  let  me  say  in  con- 
clusion, if  any  of  you  ever  grow  weary  of  the  duty 
which  God  has  assigned  to  you  as  rational  and  immor- 
tal beings  ;  if  you  ever  grow  impatient  of  the  restraints 
of  his  holy  word,  and  begin  to  employ  your  reason  on 
any  subject,  which  lies  beyond  your  province,  and  whichj 
however  enticing  it  may  be  to  your  curiosity,  is  foreign 
to  your  great  work ;  you  will  hear  from  your  blessed 
Lord  that  cutting  rebuke,  which  he  once  gave  to  the 
inquisitiveness  of  an  apostle ;  What  is  that  to  thee  ? 
Folloto  thou  me. 


DISCOURSE  XL 


THE  CERTAIN  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  REDEEMER. 


For  He  must  reign,  till  he  liatb  put  all  enemies  under  his  feet. — 1  Cor.  xv.  23. 

Of  the  probabilitj'^  of  a  future  event,  considered 
simply  and  by  itself,  we  can  know  absolutely  nothing. 
Thus,  were  it  demanded  whether  or  not  at  some  point 
in  the  regions  of  infinite  space.'a  system  existed  similar 
to  our  owti,  I  certainly  could  not  answer.  To  affirm 
and  to  deny,  would  both  be  alike  unphilosophical. 
Upon  the  supposition  which  we  have  made,  there  is 
nothing  upon  which  an  opinion  can  be  reasonably 
founded.  If,  however,  any  relations  could  be  traced 
between  the  existence  of  such  a  system  and  some 
clearly  established  fact,  the  case  would  at  once  be 
altered.  In  proportion  to  the  multiplicity  and  the 
strength  of  these  relations,  would  our  belief  be  strength- 
ened, until  it  arrived  at  a  degree  of  conviction  very 
50 


394  TRIUMPH  OF  DISC.  XI. 

little  short  of  that  produced  by  mathematical  demon- 
stration or  by  the  evidence  of  the  senses. 

The  same  principles  apply,  if  we  are  called  upon  to 
answer  a  question  that  may  be  asked  respecting  the 
immaterial  world.  Were  it  demanded  whether  the 
inhabitants  of  such  a  system  were  happy  or  miserable. 
[  could  not  answer.  To  affirm  or  deny,  would  be 
equally  premature ;  for  no  media  of  proof  on  either 
side  have  l)een  as  yet  advanced.  Could  it,  however, 
be  shown  under  what  ciixumstances  the  inhabitants  in 
question  had  been  created,  and  what  relations  subsisted 
between  their  happiness  or  misery  and  the  laws  which 
God  had  established  for  the  government  of  his  creatures, 
then,  as  in  the  other  case,  might  an  opinion  be  reason- 
ably entertained. 

You  observe,  then,  that  in  considering  the  probability 
of  a  future  event,  considered  simply  and  by  itself,  there 
is  no  room  for  argument ;  for,  from  the  nature  of  the 
case,  there  is  no  evidence  on  which  conviction  can  be 
founded.  Argument  is  employed  in  examining  the 
relations  which  exist  between  one  event  that  is  known 
and  another  that  is  unknown  or  doubtful.  These 
relations  we  have  the  ability  to  trace  with  greater  or 
with  less  accuracy.  Here  is  the  true  field  for  human 
investigation.  It  is  thus  that  the  probability  of  a  future 
event  is  brought  within  the  grasp  of  scientific  investi- 
gation. Mere  assertion  here  will  avail  nothing.  If 
one  man  affirm,  he  must  show  why  ;  and  if  another 
deny,  he  must  prove  not  only  that  the  previous  showing 


1JIS(  .    XI.  JUF.   RK.DKK.URR.  oO.') 

is  inconclusive;  but  also  that  a  contiai y  showing  can  be 
maintained.  He  who  shall  do  otherwise,  waives  his 
claim  to  the  character  of  a  philosopher. 

The  text  asserts  the  certainty  of  a  future  event.  It 
becomes  a  reasonable  man  to  judge  of  its  probability, 
upon  the  same  principles  as  he  would  judge  of  the  pro- 
bability of  any  other  future  event. 

It  is  said  that  Jesus  Christ  must  reign,  until  lie  have 
put  all  enemies  under  his  feet.  The  language  is  meta- 
phorical, and  the  metaphor  is  derived  from  the  language 
of  monarchical  governments.  A  prince  reigns  wher- 
ever his  laws  are  obeyed.  By  Christ's  universal  reign, 
then,  it  must  be  meant  that  his  laws  will  be  universally 
obeyed.  These  laws  are  contained  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, a  book  which  purports  to  be  a  revelation  from 
God  to  man.  Hence,  Jesus  Christ  will  have  triumphed 
universally,  or  will  have  put  all  enemies  under  his  feet, 
when  the  supreme  authority  of  the  Bible  over  the  con- 
science of  man  shall  be  universally  acknowledged,  and 
when  its  precepts  shall  be  obeyed  by  people  of  every 
nation  and  of  every  language. 

Besides  this,  there  are  various  benefits  resulting  from 
this  obedience  to  the  Gospel  which  are  alike  predicted. 
These  are  briefly  comprised  in  the  promise,  that  the 
miseries  of  the  fall  shall  be  aboUshed,  and  this  earth 
become  the  abode  of  happiness  and  peace. 

Now,  considering  the  event  sunply  and  by  itself,  no 
one  could  decide,  either  for  or  against  its  probability. 
Our  onlv  mode  of  ascertaining  anv  thing-  certain  in 


:{<)«)  TRIUMPH  OF  DISC.  XI. 

legard  (d  it,  is  to  considei'  the  relations  which  it  sustains 
to  things  whicli  exist,  or  to  the  laws  which  God  has 
estabhshed  for  the  government  of  the  iniiverse.  Thus, 
we  may  inquire  whether  the  moral  system  contained  in 
the  Gospel  have  any  such  relations  to  the  sensitive 
part  of  our  nature  as  will  warrant  us  to  expect  its  uni- 
versal reception.  We  may  examine  whether  the  Being, 
who,  by  the  acknowledgment  of  all,  governs  the  uni- 
\erse,  have  given  any  intimations  on  this  subject.  Or 
we  may  observe  whether  the  moral  forces,  \A'hich  direct 
the  movement  of  society,  have  not  been  so  combined, 
tliat  such  an  event  must  be  the  necessary  result.  Now 
all  these,  and  various  others  that  might  be  adduced,  are 
as  fair  topics  of  argument  as  any  other.  If,  on  such 
grounds  as  these,  we  argue  the  question  fairly,  it  will 
not  be  sufficient  to  answer  us  by  a  smile,  or  an  epithet, 
or  a  sarcasm.  There  is  argument  neither  in  drollery 
nor  abuse.  If  a  man  deny  the  probability  of  what  we 
attempt  to  prove,  he  must  show  that  the  relations  which 
we  have  attempted  to  illustrate  do  not  exist,  and,  also, 
that  other  relations  do  exist  which  would  establish  the 
probability  of  the  contrary  event. 

So  much  for  the  nature  of  the  argument.  .  We  now 
come  to  the  argument  itself  We  shall  endeavour  to 
show,  that  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  will  universally 
prevail. 

I.  From  its  peculiar  adaptedness  to  gratify  the  wants 
(sflhft  sensitive  part  of  our  nature. 


DISC.  XI.  PHK  HEDEKMER.  397 

II.  From  the  intimations,  in  the  history  of  the 
world,  which  the  Creator  of  the  universe  has  given, 
that  such  is  his  determination. — And 

III.  From  the  fact,  that  the  elements  of  society  have 
been  so  combined  that,  at  some  time  or  other,  such 
must  be  the  necessary  result. 

I.  It  is  probable  that  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  will 
universally  prevail,  from  its  peculiar  adaptedness  to 
gratify  the  wants  of  the  sensitive  part  of  our  nature. 

By  the  sensitive  part  of  our  nature,  I  mean  those 
attributes  of  mind,  which  are  affected  either  pleasantly 
or  painfully,  by  facts,  and  by  things  about  us,  that  do 
not  address  themselves  exclusively  to  the  organs  of 
sense.  It  is,  therefore,  in  this  discussion,  taken  for 
granted,  that  we  possess  taste,  which  is  gratified  by  our 
progress  in  the  knowledge  of  the  qualities  and  relations 
of  things,  which  delights  in  the  beautiful  and  glories  in 
the  vast ;  and,  also,  a  conscience  which  is  susceptible  of 
affections  pecuhar  to  itself  upon  the  doing  of  right  or 
the  commission  of  wrong ;  and  that  these  affections, 
so  far  as  his  history  has  been  traced,  have  more  to  do 
than  any  other  with  the  happiness  or  misery  of  man. 
Taking  these  facts  for  granted,  it  is  not  difficult  to  fore- 
tell what  sort  of  intellectual  and  moral  exhibitions  will 
be  most  widely  disseminated,  transforming  the  human 
character  and  directing  the  human  will.  It  is  upon 
the  supposition  that  we  may  thus  judge  what  will 
in  a  particular  manner  affect  the  human  mind,  that 


X9S  THirMPH   OP  DISC.  XI. 

the  whole  science  both  of  criticism  and  rhetoric  is 
founded. 

I  have  said  that  taste  is  gratified  by  progress  in  know- 
ledge of  the  qualities  and  relations  of  things,  or  by 
striking  exhibitions  of  what  is  commonly  called  relative 
beauty.  Hence  the  pleasure  with  which  we  contem- 
plate a  theorem  of  widely  extended  application  in  the 
sciences,  or  an  invention  of  inrportant  utility  in  the  arts. 
Now,  it  is  found  that  the  material  universe  has  been 
so  created  as  admirably  to  harmonize  with  this  princi- 
ciple  of  our  nature.  The  laws  of  matter  are  few  and 
comparatively  simple,  but  their  relations  are  multiplied 
even  to  infinity.  The  law  of  gravitation  may  be  easily 
explained  to  an  ordinary  man,  or  even  to  an  intelligent 
child.  But  who  can  trace  one  half  of  its  relations  to 
things  soUd  and  fluid,  things  animate  and  inanimate, 
the  very  form  of  society  itself,  to  this  system,  other  sys- 
tems, in  fine,  to  the  mighty  masses  of  this  material 
universe?  The  mind  delights  to  carry  out  such  a 
principle  to  its  ramified  illustrations,  and  hence  it  che- 
rishes, as  its  peculiar  treasure,  a  knowledge  of  these 
principles  themselves.  Thus  was  it,  that  the  discovery 
of  such  a  law  gave  the  name  of  Newton  to  immortality, 
reduced  to  harmony  the  once  apparently  discordant 
movements  of  our  planetary  system,  taught  us  to  pre- 
dict the  events  of  coming  ages,  and  to  explain  what 
was  before  hidden  from  the  creation  of  the  world. 

Now,  he  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  examine  will 
jievreive  in  the    Gospel  of  Jesus    Christ  a  system  ol' 


THE  KKDEKMEH. 


399 


ultimate  truths  in  morals,  in  a  very  striking  manner 
analogous  to  these  elementary  laws  of  physics.  In 
themselves,  they  are  few,  simple,  and  easily  to  be 
understood.  ,  Their  relations,  however,  as  in  the  other 
case,  are  infinite.  The  moral  principle,  by  which  you 
can  easily  teach  your  little  child  to  regulate  her  conduct 
in  the  nursery,  will  furnish  matter  for  the  contempla- 
tion of  statesmen  and  sages.  It  is  the  only  principle  on 
which  the  decisions  of  cabinets  and  courts  can  be 
founded,  and  is,  of  itself,  sufficient  to  guide  the  diplo- 
matist through  all  the  mazes  of  the  most  intricate  nego- 
tiation. Let  any  one  who  pleases  make  the  experiment, 
for  himself.  Let  him  take  one  of  the  rules  of  human 
conduct  which  the  Gospel  prescribes,  and,  having  ob- 
tained a  clear  conception  of  it,  just  as  it  is  revealed,  let 
him  carry  it  out  in  its  unshrinking  application  to  the 
doings  and  dealings  of  men.  At  first,  if  he  be  not 
accustomed  to  generalizations  of  this  sort,  he  will  find 
much  that  will  stagger  him,  and  he  perhaps  will  be 
ready  hastily  to  decide  that  the  ethics  of  the  bible  were 
never  intended  for  practice.  But.  let  him  look  a  Uttle 
longer,  and  meditate  a  little  more  intensely,  and  expand 
his  views  a  Uttle  more  widely,  or  become,  either  by  ex- 
perience or  by  years,  a  Uttle  older,  and  he  will  more  and 
more  wonder  at  the  profoundness  of  wisdom  and  the 
universality  of  application  of  the  principles  of  the  Gos- 
pel. With  the  most  expanded  views  of  society,  he  can 
go  nowhere  where  the  bible  has  not  been  before  him, 
With  the  most  penetrating  sagacity,  he  can  make  no 


too  'I'RliriVlini  <iK  DISC.  XI, 

discovery  which  the  bible  had  not  long-  ago  promul- 
gated. He  will  find  neither  application  which  inspira- 
tion did  not  foresee,  nor  exception  against  which  it  has 
not  guarded.  He  will,  at  last,  sink  down  in  humble 
adoration  of  the  wisdom  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  con- 
vinced that  he  is  the  wisest  man  as  well  as  the  pro- 
foundest  philosopher  >vho  yields  himself  up,  in  meek- 
ness and  simplicity  of  spirit,  to  the  teachings  of  the 
Saviour. 

Now,  with  these  universal  moral  principles  the  bible 
is  filled.  At  one  time,  you  find  them  explicitly  stated  : 
at  another,  merely  alluded  to ;  here,  standing  out  in  a 
precept ;  there,  retiring  behind  a  reflection  ;  now,  en- 
wrapped in  the  drapery  of  a  parable,  then  giving  tinge 
and  coloring  to  a  graphically  drawn  character.  Its 
lessons  of  wisdom  are  thus  adapted  to  readers  of  every 
age,  and  to  every  variety  of  intellectual  culture.  Hence 
no  book  is  adapted  to  be  so  universally  read  as  the  bible. 
No  other  precepts  are  of  so  extensive  application,  or  are 
capable  of  guiding  under  so  difficult  circumstances. 
None  other  imbue  the  mind  with  a  spirit  of  so  deep 
forethought  and  so  expansive  generalization.  Hence, 
there  is  no  book  which  expands  the  intellect  like  the 
bible.  It  is  the  only  book  which  offers  a  reasonable 
solution  of  the  moral  phenomena  which  are  transpiring 
around  us.  Hence,  there  is  the  same  sort  of  reason  to 
beUeve  that  the  precepts  of  the  bible  will  be  read,  and 
studied,  and  obeyed,  as  there  is  to  believe  that  the  sys- 
tem of  Newton  will  finally  prevail,  and  eventually 


DISC.  Xr.  THE  REDEEMER.  401 

banish  from  the  languages  of  man  the  astronomical 
dreams  of  Yishnii  or  of  Gandama. 

There  are,  however,  other  exhibitions  of  taste,  which 
present  no  less  interesting  illustrations  of  the  adapted- 
ness  of  the  bible  to  the  nature  of  man.  It  is  in  the 
exercise  of  this  faculty,  that  he  delights  in  the  beautiful, 
glories  in  the  vast,  and  becomes  susceptible  of  the  ten- 
derness of  the  pathetic.  I  need  not  mention  that  these 
are  among  the  most  pleasing-  of  our  intellectual  opera- 
tions, nor  that  we  eagerly  search,  in  every  duection,  for 
the  objects  of  their  appropriate  gratification. 

To  illustrate  the  sublimity  and  beauty  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  would,  however,  demand  limits  far  more 
extensive  than  the  present  discussion  will  allow.  I 
will,  therefore,  merely  direct  your  attention  to  two 
considerations,  which  I  select,  not  as  the  most  striking, 
but  as  somewhat  the  most  susceptible  of  brevity  of 
illustration.  The  first  is,  the  scriptural  conceptions  of 
character ;  the  second,  the  scriptural  views  of  futurity. 

It  is  to  be  remembered,  that  the  bible  contains  by  far 
the  oldest  memorials  of  our  race.  Much  of  it  was 
written  by  men  who  had  scarcely  emerged  from  the  pas- 
toral state,  and  who  had  acquired  but  httle  of  the 
knowledge,  even  then  possessed,  either  in  the  arts  or  the 
sciences.  There  was  nothing  in  the  circumstances  in 
which  they  wei'e  placed,  to  give  elevation  to  character, 
or  beauty,  or  sublimity,  to  their  conceptions  of  it.  •  And 
yet,  these  conceptions  are  most  strikingly  diverse  from 
every  thing  which  we  elsewhere  behold  in  all  tlie  records 
5i 


402  TRIUMPH  OF  DISC.  XI. 

of  aiiti(iuity.  The  heroes  of  the  pagan  classics  are, 
for  the  most  part,  either  sycophants  or  ruffians,  as  they 
are  swayed,  alternately,  by  cunning  or  by  passion. 
The  objects  of  their  entejprizes  are  trifling  and  insig- 
nificant. Their  narrative  is  valuable,  neither  for  moral 
instruction,  nor  yet  for  elevated  views  of  human  nature, 
in  tiie  individual  or  in  society,  but  for  bursts  of  elo- 
quent feeling  and  delineations  of  nature,  everywhere 
the  same,  and  always  speaking  the  same  language 
into  the  ear  of  Genius.  The  world,  in  its  moral  pro- 
gress, has  long  since  left  behind  it  the  ancient  concep- 
tions of  distinguished  character.  Who  would  now 
take  for  his  model  Achilles,  or  Hector,  or  Ulysses,  or 
Agamemnon  ?  What  mother  would  now  relate  their 
deeds  to  hei-  children  ?  How  different  a  view  is  pre- 
sented by  the  holy  company  of  Patriarchs ;  Abraham, 
that  beauteous  model  of  an  eastern  prince ;  Moses,  that 
wise  legislator ;  David,  the  warrior  poet ;  Daniel,  the 
far  sighted  premier ;  and  Nehemiah,  the  inflexible 
patriot.  The  world  still  looks  up  with  reverence  to 
these  moral  examples;  they  are  still  as  profitable 
models  for  contemplation,  as  they  were  at  the  begin- 
ning. 

But  if  we  would  consider  this  subject  in  its  strong- 
est light,  bring  together  scriptural  and  classical  charac- 
ters of  the  same  age.  Contrast  the  history  of  Eneas  by 
Virgil,  the  most  gifted  and  the  most  humane  of  the 
Roman  poets,^  with  that  of  St.  Paul,  as  found  in  the 
Acts  and  the  Epistles,    Contrast  the  faithless,  vindictive, 


DISC.  Xr.  THE   REDEEMER.  403 

gross,  cowardly,  and  superstitious  freebooter,  with  the 
upright,  meek,  benevolent,  sympathizing,  and  yet  fear- 
less, and  indomitable  apostle.  Or,  if  the  thought  be 
not  profane,  compare  the  most  splendid  conceptions 
either  of  ancient  or  modern  times,  with  the  character 
of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  as  it  is  delineated  in  the  Gospels. 
We  say,  then,  that  if  we  would  gratify  our  taste  with 
tme  conceptions  of  elevated  character,  if  we  would 
satisfy  that  innate  longing  within  us  after  something 
better  and  more  exalted  than  our  eyes  rest  upon  on 
earth,  it  is  to  the  bible  that  we  shall  be,  by  the  princi- 
ples of  om'  nature,  irresistibly  attracted. 

I  spoke  of  the  views  which  the  gospel  gives  of  fu- 
turity. A  brief  allusion  to  a  very  few  topics  must 
suffice  for  this  part  of  the  subject. 

The  Gospel  alone  has  brought  immortality  to  light. 
In  the  place  of  annihilation,  or  the  transmigration  of 
souls,  or  the  dim  place  of  shadows  and  of  ghosts,  or  a 
paradise  of  sensual  gratification,  it  reveals  to  us  an  eter- 
nity of  moral  pleasure  or  of  moral  pain,  the  eternal 
weight  of  glory  or  the  wrath  of  God  without  mixture. 
Every  thing  else  makes  this  world  substance,  and  the 
other  world  shadow.  The  bible  alone  makes  this 
world  shadow,  and  the  other  world  substance.  While 
it  makes  this  world  merely  the  vestibule  of  our  being, 
it  alone  renders  it  truly  valuable,  by  making  every 
moment  and  every  purpose  take  strong  hold  of  eter- 
nity. 


401  TIUUIMPHOF  DISC.  XI. 

The  bible  presents  us  with  the  only  views  of  the 
character  of  Deity,  in  unison  with  the  intellectual  and 
moral  aspirations  of  man.  It  tells  us  of  a  Being  who^ 
the  essential  cause  of  all  things,  sustains  the  flight  of  a 
sparrow,  and  upholds,  by  his  word,  this  measureless  uni- 
verse ;  Avho,  unsearchable  in  wisdom,  allows  every 
creature  whom  he  has  made  to  fulfil  the  purposes  of  its 
individual  will,  while,  at  the  same  time,  his  counsel 
shall  stand,  and  he  will  do  all  his  pleasure ;  who,  infi- 
nite in  compassion,  is  every  where  most  intimately 
present  to  every  one  of  us,  sustaining  the  disconsolate, 
comforting  the  cast  down,  binding  up  the  broken  in 
heart,  and  pouring  himself  abroad,  in  blessing,  upon 
the  infinite  creation  which  he  everywhere  pervades ;  a 
God,  so  pure  that  the  heavens  are  not  clean  in  his 
sight,  and  so  just,  that  He  will  forever  and  everywhere 
mete  out  to  every  creatme,  how  high  or  how  low  so- 
ever, exactly  according  to  the  merit  of  its  deeds. 

But  specially  worthy  to  be  mentioned  here,  is  the 
transcendent  conception  of  the  plan  of  redemption. 
The  race  of  man  fixed  in  opposition  to  the  unchange- 
able attributes  of  the  all  glorious  God ;  the  Son  of  God, 
undertaking  the  work  of  reconciliation  ;  the  mission  of 
Christ,  his  bitter  death,  his  triumphant  resurrection  and 
ascension  to  his  primitive  glory ;  entire  cleansing  from 
the  stain  of  guilt  to  all  that  will  beUeve  ;  heaven,  with 
its  eternal  weight  of  glory,  freely  offered  to  the  peni- 
tent ;  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  ;  the  final  judgment ; 


DISC.  XI.  THE  RKDF.EMER.  40.5 

all  things  material  fleeing  away  from  the  face  of  him 
that  sitteth  upon  the  throne ;  the  irrevocable  decision ; 
the  shouts  of  the  redeemed  ;  the  wailings  of  the  lost ; 
these  are  some  of  the  spiritual  ideas  which  the  Gospel 
has  poured  upon  the  darksome  mind  of  sin-beclouded 
man.  Now,  setting  aside  altogether  the  fact,  that,  thus 
far,  wherever  these  notions  of  religion  have  been  taught, 
all  others  have  soon  ceased  to  be  either  known  or  thought 
of,  I  ask  whether  a  system  which  sheds  such  light  upon 
all  the  relations  of.  man,  which  so  fills  his  conceptions 
with  all  that  is  beautiful  and  sublime  in  morals,  which 
proffers  to  him  an  immortality  more  glorious  than 
aught  that  elsewhere  the  mind  of  man  had  conceived, 
must  not,  fiom  the  principles  of  human  nature,  be  in  the 
end  universally  received. 

We  proceed  to  consider  another  fact  to  which  we,  in 
the  commencement,  alluded.  It  is  that,  from  some 
cause  or  other,  there  has  prevailed  throughout  our  race 
a  very  universal  feeUng  of  guiltiness,  and  an  apprehen- 
sion, more  or  less  distressing,  of  the  wrath  of  Deity,  on 
account  of  sin. 

Of  the  prevalence  of  this  sentunent,  you  have  mani- 
fest proof,  in  the  terror  with  which  unusual  phenomena 
always  inspire  mankind,  in  the  prevalence  of  sacrifices 
and  other  means  of  appeasing  the  wrath  of  the  gods, 
in  the  forms  of  rehgion,  almost  as  numerous  as  the 
tribes  of  men  on  the  earth,  and  in  the  fact  that  in  every 
nation  particular  individuals  have  been  set  apart,  whose 
special  business  it  has  been  to  propitiate  the  Supreme 


10(3  TRIUMPH  OF  DISC.  XI. 

Being.  Nor  is  this  consciousness  of  guilt  the  mere 
phantom  of  a  savage's  imagination.  I  doubt  whether 
there  be  a  human  being  in  this  assembly,  this  evening, 
who  hath  not,  more  than  once,  so  felt  it  as  to  exclaim, 
in  all  the  bitterness  of  a  wounded  spirit,  what  must  I 
do  to  be  saved  ? 

Of  the  distress  which  this  apprehension  has  occa- 
sioned, you  may  judge  from  the  nature  of  the  means 
which  have  been  adopted  to  alleviate  it.  Hence,  arose 
those  costly  temples  on  which  the.  wealth  of  nations 
was  exhausted.  Hence,  smoked  the  hecatombs  of 
classic  story,  and  the  countless  victims  of  the  Jewish 
service.  Hence,  the  mother  has  devoted  her  first  born 
to  atone  for  her  transgression,  and  the  father  has  pe- 
rished beneath  the  wheel  of  an  idol's  car.  And  hence, 
that  every  where,  but  in  Protestant  Christendom,  the 
priesthood  have  exercised  so  entire  a  sway  over  the 
opinions  and  actions  of  men.  Claiming  the  exclusive 
prerogative  of  propitiating  the  Deity,  they  wielded  at 
will  the  stormy  passions  of  the  multitude.  Such  has 
been  the  fact  under  every  form  of  false  religion.  It 
shows  us,  at  least,  how  agonizing  is  this  apprehension, 
and^hat  men  will  sacrifice  any  thing,  if  it  can  only  be 
allayed. 

But  neither  the  offerings  of  the  laity,  nor  the  services 
of  the  priesthood,  could  ever  take  away  sin.  The 
thoughtful  heathen,  as  he  retired  from  the  classic  tem- 
ple and  bleeding  victim,  out  of  a  conscience  still  pressed 
down  under  the  weight  of  its  own  condemnations,  ex- 


DISC.  XI.  THE  REDEEMER.  407 

claimed,  O  that  I  knew  where  I  might  find  Him  !    The 
Hebrew,  turning  from    the   smoking  altar*  and   the 
atoning  priest,  still  cried  out,  Wherewith  shall  I  appear 
before  God  and  bow  myself  before  the  High  God  !    The 
Hindu  mother,  returning  childless  from  the  river  that 
has  swallowed  up  her  babe,  feels  the  sting  of  guilt  still 
rankling  in  unmitigated  agony !     The  body  of  the 
devotee  is  crushed  beneath  the  wheel,  but  ah !    the 
wound  was  far  deeper.     From  that  mangled,  bleeding 
corse,  his  soul  is  now  set  free,  but  yet  uncleansed  and 
in  all  her  guiltiness,  she  appears  before  her  God.     Thus 
is  it  in  our  own  country  and  at  the  present  day.     A 
man,  feeling  the  agony  of  a  guilty  conscience,  may 
flee  every  where  but  to  Calvary,  and  there  is  no  relief 
for  his  anguish.     But  let  liim  hear  that  God  so  loved 
the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  who- 
soever beheveth  on  liim  shall  not  perish  but  have  ever- 
lasting life ;  let  him  cast  himself  for  salvation  upon 
him  whose  blood  cleanseth  from  all  sin ;  let  him  im- 
bibe and  practice   the   precepts  of  the   Gospel,  and 
he  feels  in  his  spirit  that  his  deadly  wound  is  healed. 
The  peace  that  passeth  understanduig  is  shed  abroad 
in  his  soul.     The  Spirit  witnesseth  with  his  spirit  that 
he  is  reconciled  to  God.     From  the  dominion  of  sm, 
from  the  tyranny  of  the  passions,  from  subjection  to  a 
sensual  and  transitory  world,  from  the  intolerable  an- 
guish of  a  wounded  spiiit,  the  Son  has  made  him  free, 
and  he  is  free  indeed.     Being  justified  by  faith,  he  has 


408  TRIUMPH  OF  DISC.  XI. 

peace  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
rejoices  with  joy  that  is  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory. 

I  ain  not  speaking-  fables.  I  am  speaking  facts — facts 
as  well  attested  as  any  other  in  the  history  of  man. 
Such  are  the  wants  of  our  nature  and  such  are  the 
etfects  of  the  Gospel,  wherever  it  is  received  in  simpli- 
city and  in  truth.  And  now,  before  we  go  any  farther, 
let  us  reflect  upon  the  ground  we  have  gone  over ;  let 
us  remark  how  the  bible  is  adapted  to  gratify  the  taste, 
to  ennoble  the  imagination,  to  expand  the  conception 
of  man ;  let  us  estimate  the  power  of  the  rehgious  prin- 
ciple in  man,  and  the  utter  vanity  and  heartlessness  of 
every  thing  else  on  which  that  principle  can  fasten,  and 
I  ask  every  man  to  say,  for  himself,  whether,  judging 
from  its  adaptedness  to  gratify  the  wants  of  our  nature, 
it  be  not  certain  that  it  must  in  the  end  prevail. 

So  much  for  the  first  argument. 

II.  There  is  sound  reason  for  believing  that  the 
Creator  has  given  us  assurance  that  the  religion  of  the 
bible  shall  universall)^  prevail. 

I  need  scarcely  repeat  what  was  said  at  the  com- 
mencement of  this  discourse,  that,  without  an  exami- 
nation of  the  evidence  in  the  case,  to  decide  whether 
such  an  event  would  take  place,  or  whether  God  would 
reveal  it,  would  be  absurdly  unphilosophical.  Yet  some 
sort  of  notion  of  the  probability  of  an  event  may  be 
deduced  from  a  camparison  of  the  act  with  the  known 
character  of  the  actor.     Thus,  it  is  not  impiobable  that 


DISC.  XI.  THE  REDEEMER.  409 

the  Supreme  Being  should  have  a  design  with  regard  to 
this  world,  nor,  as  it  is  granted  on  all  sides  that  he  is 
infinitely  merciful,  is  it  improbable  that  he  should  de- 
sign to  remove  the  miseries  which  afflict  us.  Now,  as 
the  very  thing  said  to  be  predicted,  is  that  these  mise- 
ries are  to  be  removed,  there  is  surely  neither  intrinsic 
probabihty  in  the  thing  itself,  nor  hi  the  supposition 
that  God  should  predict  it. 

But  we  assert  that  God  has  given  positive  assurance*, 
that  the  Gospel  shall  prevail.  To  present  the  argu- 
ment at  length  would  be  unsuitaljle  for  this  occasion. 
We  shall  merely  attempt  a  very  brief  illustration  of  the 
principle  on  which  the  argument  for  the  divine  inspira- 
tion of  the  Scriptures  rests. 

You  are  aware,  then,  that  the  various  events  that 
come  within  om-  knowledge,  take  place  in  the  manner 
of  a  regular  and  estabhshed  series.  Every  one  in  this 
endless!  succession  has  its  own  antecedent  and  its  own 
consequent.  Hence  are  we  enabled  to  use  our  reason, 
both  in  preparing  for  the  future  and  in  accounting  for 
the  past. 

Whenever,  in  any  case,  this  stated  connection  is  dis- 
covered, so  that  one  event  is  the  invarialjle  antecedent 
of  the  other,  we  call  the  first  a  cause,  the  second  an 
effect.  Thus,  the  falling  of  a  shower  is  one  event — the 
growth  of  vegetation  is  another.  The  connection  be- 
tween them  has,  in  certain  circumstances,  been  found 
invariable,  and  hence  we  say  in  summer  that  the  rain 
has  caused  the  grass  to  spring  ibrtli,  and  also  that  the 
52 


410  TRIUMPH  OK  DISC.  XI. 

springing  foitli  of  the  grass  is  the  efiect  of  tlie  shower. 
The  same  is  true  of  intellectual  changes.  Thus,  reflec- 
tion is  one  state  of  mind — knowledge  is  another.  The 
connection  between  them  has  been  found  invariable, 
and  hence  we  say  that  reflection  is  the  cause  of  know- 
ledge, and  that  knowledge  is  the  eflfect  of  reflection. 

When,  however,  we  use  these  terms,  we  do  not 
mean  that  the  one  event  is  the  efiicieut  cause  of  the 
other — that  is,  that  it  is  the  cause  in  such  a  sense  that 
the  one  could  produce  the  other,  if  there  were  nothing 
else  existing  in  the  universe.  We  merely  mean  that, 
in  the  present  system,  the  one  is  made  the  stated  ante- 
cedent of  the  other,  but  we  know  not  that  it  has  any 
more  efficient  agency  in  its  production  than  any  other 
thing.  God  is  the  sole  and  only  efficient  cause.  If  he 
had  seen  fit,  he  cotild  as  well  have  arranged  entirely 
different  antecedents  and  consequents,  or  he  could  have 
operated  every  change  by  itself,  without  having  es- 
tablished any  regular  order  of  succession.  But  he  has 
not  seen  fit  thus  to  operate.  He  has  connected  every 
thing  in  the  manner  that  we  have  shown.  This  we 
call  the  course  of  nature.  It  is  God  working  according 
to  the  laws  which  he  has  been  pleased  to  establish. 
And  as  He  has  established  this  manner  of  succession. 
He  only  can  vary  it.  If,  therefore,  it  be  clearly  and 
palpably  varied  from,  it  is  equally  clear  and  palpable 
that  he  himself  must  have  varied  it. 

You  will  observe  also,  that  these  laws  of  antecedence 
and  consequence,  or  of  cause  and  effect,  pervade  equal- 


DlSa  XI.  THE  REDEEMER.  411 

ly  the  whole  system,  material  and  immaterial,  of  which 
we  form  a  part.  Thus,  belief  is  a  state  of  mind  which 
never  arises  of  itself,  any  more  than  the  herb  grows 
where  there  is  no  moisture.  It  has  its  regular  and 
stated  antecedents.  Otherwise,  there  could  be  no  re- 
hance  upon  testimony,  and  all  history  and  all  reasoning 
about  facts  would  be  the  veriest  nonsense.  I  cannot 
believe  that  I  see  an  audience  before  me,  unless  the 
antecedent  be  that  I  see  an  audience.  I  cannot  see  an 
audience,  unless  the  antecedent  be  that  an  audience  is 
present.  Casualty  in  these  intellectual  changes  would 
produce  effects  far  more  deleterious  to  the  interests  of 
society,  than  any  that  could  arise  from  the  same  cause 
in  the  material  world.  It  would  at  once  do  away, 
universally,  belief  and  every  thing  that  is  predicated 
upon  it. 

Let  us  now  apply  these  principles  to  the  case  before 
us.  It  is,  I  suppose,  granted  that  a  variation,  clear  and 
indisputable,  from  the  established  succession  of  cause 
and  effect,  or  of  antecedent  and  consequent,  is  a  suffi- 
cient proof  of  the  interposition  of  Deity ;  for  none  but 
He  could  have  thus  varied  the  mode  of  his  own  opera- 
tion. Nor  can  it  be  denied  that,  if  such  a  variation 
from  the  acknowledged  laws  of  cause  and  effect  be  in- 
dissolubly  connected  with  instructions  purporting  to 
come  from  God,  God  does  in  fact  render  himself  re- 
sponsible for  the  truths  of  all  that  is  thus  delivered. 

Now,  we  say  that  the  first  promulgation  of  the  Gos- 
pel of  Jesus  Christ  was  attended  with  such  a  variation 


412  TRIUMPH  OF  DISC.  Xi. 

from  the  laws  of  cause  and  effect,  that  the  interposi- 
tion of  Deity  must  necessarily  be  supposed,  in  order  to 
account  for  it,  and,  therefore,  for  the  truth  of  whatever 
that  Gospel  reveals,  the  moral  character  of  the  Deity 
is  responsible. 

The  apostles  and  disciples  and  the  men  of  that  day 
did  most  certainly  beheve,  that  they  saw  the  eyes  of 
the  blind  opened,  the  cars  of  the  deaf  unstopped,  the 
lepers  cleansed,  and  the  dead  raised,  by  the  word  of 
Jesus  of  Nazareth ;  and  also,  that,  after  having  seen 
liim  crucified,  dead,  and  buried,  they  saw  him  alive 
again,  conversed  with  him,  walked  Avith  him ;  and 
that  they  afterwards  saw  him,  under  most  remarkable 
circumstances,  ascend  up  into  heaven. 

Now,  I  say,  the  question  here  really  is  not  whether 
there  ivas  any  variation  from  the  regular  succession  of 
cause  and  effect,  but  where  was  that  variation.  Either 
these  events  took  place  at  the  word  of  Jesus  Christ,  or 
they  did  not.  If  they  did  take  place,  as  the  evangehsts 
relate  them,  the  variation  consists  in  this,  that  God  in 
this  case  suspended  the  laws  of  cause  and  effect,  and 
made  a  single  word  to  become  the  antecedent  of 
changes  totally  unlike  to  any  which,  either  before  or 
since,  have  ever  been  known.  And  if  this  be  so,  then 
He  has  intended  to  render  himself  responsible  for  all 
that  has  been  taught  in  connection  with  such  an  in 
terposition.  If,  on  the  contrary,  these  events  did  not 
take  place,  at  the  word  of  Jesus  Christ,  then  every  in- 
dividual of  a  great  number  of  men  either  Ijclieved  they 


DISC,  XI.  THE  REDEEMER.  413 

saw  what  they  did  not  see,  or  they  saw  what  did  not 
exist.  There  must  have  been,  therefore,  a  variation 
from  the  laws  of  cause  and  eflect,  in  the  case  of  every 
several  individual  who  supposed  himself  a  spectator ; 
that  is,  instead  of  a  variation  in  one  case,  a  variation  in 
a  thousand  cases.  Now  such  a  departure  from  the 
laws  of  cause  and  effect  could  have  been  produced  only 
by  the  Supreme  Being,  and  it  was  inseparably  connected 
with  the  promulgation  of  the  Gospel.  Just  as  much 
then,  as  in  the  other  case,  does  it  render  the  Supreme 
Being  responsible  for  all  that  we  find  there  either  as 
precept  or  prophecy.  On  either  supposition,  the  proof 
is  full  and  decisive. 

Such,  then,  is  one  view  of  the  principles  on  which 
rests  our  belief  that  the  agency  of  Deity  was  concerned 
in  the  promulgation  of  this  system,  and,  therefore,  that 
his  veracity  is  responsible  for  the  truth  of  it.  The 
applications  of  the  principle  are  various.  In  the  Old 
Testament,  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  Jewish 
church,  the  separation  of  the  Jews  from  all  other  na- 
tions, the  facts  connected  with  the  prophecies  wliich  the 
sacred  books  contain,  are  inexplicable,  upon  any  other 
supposition.  Beside  these,  the  fact  that  a  few  fisher- 
men of  Galilee  should  have  discovered  a  new  moral 
system,  thousands  of  years  in  advance  of  their  age,  a 
system  which  does  beyond  question  embody  the  moral 
laws  by  which  the  universe  is  governed,  can  be  in  no 
other  manner  explained.  Grant  that  God  spake,  and 
all  is  revealed.     Deny  it,  and  all  is  mystery.     Grant 


411  TRIUMPH  OF  DISC.  XI. 

that  God  ppake,  and  there  is  one  miracle ;  deny  it,  and 
there  are  ten  thousand. 

Now,  in  the  examination  of  evidence,  there  is  no 
religion  whatever.  It  is  a  mere  matter  of  science,  and 
to  be  decided  by  the  laws  of  science.  In  answer  to  what 
we  have  said,  therefore,  it  wiU  not  do  to  laugh  at  reli- 
gion, nor  rail  at  enthusiasm.  If  a  man  disbelieve  what 
we  have  here  attempted  to  prove,  let  him  show  a  reason 
for  it.  liCt  him  either  show  a  fallacy  in  our  reasonings, 
or  else  allow  our  conclusion.  If  he  will  do  neither,  let 
him  confess  that  he  does  not  believe,  though  he  cannot 
tell  Avhy  he  does  not,  and  thus  he  waives  the  jurisdiction 
of  reason,  and  puts  himself  on  a  level  with  the  enthu- 
siasts whom  he  so  much  derides. 

So  much,  then,  for  the  evidence  that  the  author  of 
the  material  system  around  us,  the  supreme  and  ever 
blessed  God,  is  the  author  of  the  system  of  religion  con? 
tained  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  There  is  just  the  same 
evidence  to  believe  that  it  will  universally  prevail.  Its 
prevalence  is  foretold  in  every  variety  of  form ;  it  is 
interwoven  with  the  principles  of  the  system  itself. 

The  first  promise  after  man's  apostacy,  "it  shall 
bruise  thy  head,"  foretold  enigmatically  all  the  glory 
that  we  look  for.  In  later  ages  it  was  revealed  without 
a  figure.  As  I  live,  all  the  earth  shall  be  filled  with 
the  glory  of  the  Lord,  was  the  promise  of  Jehovah  to 
Moses.  Prophet  after  prophet,  rapt  in  holy  vision,  fore- 
saw the  coming  triumphs  of  the  Redeemer  and  rejoiced 
in  the  approaching  subjection  to  his  universal  reign. 


DISC.  XI.  THF.  REDEEMER.  dl5 

"  Ask  of  me,  and  I  will  give  thee  the  Heathen  for  tliy 
inheritance  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  thy 
possession.  Out  of  Sion  shall  go  forth  the  law,  and 
the  word  of  the  Lord  out  of  Jerusalem.  And  they  shall 
beat  their  swords  into  ploughshares  and  their  spears 
into  pruning  hooks,  nation  shall  no  more  lift  up  sword 
against  nation,  nor  shall  they  learn  war  any  more."' 
The  same  tiling  is  taught  by  our  Saviour  in  precept 
and  in  parable,  and  is  abundantly  to  be  inferred  from 
the  prayer  which  he  hath  taught  us.  In  all  the  writings 
of  the  apostles,  it  is  so  frequently  alluded  to,  that  to 
mention  all  the  passages  in  which  it  is  either  asserted 
or  understood  would  occupy  all  the  time  which  remains 
for  the  remainder  of  this  discourse. 

But  why  need  I  mention  particular  passages.  The 
very  system  itself  presupposes  its  universal  extension. 
If  God  have  interfered  at  all  in  the  promulgation  of  the 
Gospel,  it  is  all  true.  A  taint  of  guiltiness  hath  over- 
spread our  whole  race.  This  world  is  in  rebelhon 
against  the  overliving  God.  Jesus  Christ  has  appeared 
in  our  nature,  by  a  manifestation  of  infinite  love,  to  win 
back  our  affection,  and,  by  the  offering  up  of  Himself, 
to  render  consistent  with  hoUness  our  reconcihation  to 
God.  He  came  to  reclaim  a  lost  world  from  its  wan- 
derings ;  to  subdue  to  obedience  this  revolted  province 
of  Jehovah's  empire ;  and  to  give  indubitable  assurance 
that  all  this  would  yet  be  triumphantly  accomplished. 
He,  whom,  on  the  holy  mount,  the  Father,  from  the 
excellent  glory,  declared  to  be  his  well  beloved  Son, 


416  'rKiuivini  of 


DISC.  XI. 


cxpiicti  on  llic  croriri.  Aiul  truly,  as  tlieic  is  a  God  in 
heaven,  tliiri  people  shall  yet  he  redeemed.  This  earth, 
which  has  been  moistened  with  a  Saviour's  blood,  shall 
yet  be  his  universal  i)ossession ;  for  it  bears  upon  its 
solid  surface  the  seal  to  the  irrevocable  covenant.  The 
misery  of  sin,  which  Jesus  Chiist  came  to  do  away, 
shall  cease ;  and  from  every  nation  and  people  under 
the  whole  heaven  shall  ascend  the  universal  shout. 
Salvation  to  him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne  and  to  the 
Lamb  forever ! 

III.  Thirdly.  The  elements  of  society  have  been  so 
combined  as  manifestly  to  tend  to  such  a  result  as  jevc- 
lation  has  predicted. 

The  nature  of  the  proof  in  this  case  is  as  foUows. 
It  is  taken  for  granted,  that  men  arc  endowed  with 
various  desires  essential  to  their  existence  in  its  present 
state.  Many  of  these  desires  can  only  be  gratified  in  a 
state  of  society,  and  when  other  men,  as  well  as  the 
individual,  obey  the  laws  which  the  Creator  has  esta- 
blished. Now,  it  can  be  shown,  conclusively,  that 
these  laws  are  essentially  the  same  as  those  revealed  in 
the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  Hence,  when  every  man 
finds  it  for  his  own  interest  that  hunself  and  all  other 
men  should  universally  obey  the  precepts  of  the  Gospel, 
it  is  evident  that  the  love  of  happiness  essential  to  our 
sensitive  natiue,  must  in  the  end  ensure  its  universal 
reception. 

I  will  endeavour  to  illustrate  the  princi|)le  on  which 
this  urgumoiit  rests,  by  an  allusion  to  the  laws  which 
jcgidate  the  acciuiiidation  of  national  wealth. 


DISC.  XI.  THE  REDEEMER.  417 

The  various  substances  of  which  this  earth  is  com- 
posed are  all  designed  for  the  benefit  of  man.  Every 
one  possesses  some  quality  by  vi^hich  it  is  capable  of 
gratifying  some  human  desire.  But  that  quality  must 
first  be  discovered,  and  the  substance  in  which  it  resides 
must  be  modified  by  the  hand  of  industry,  before  it  can 
answer  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  designed.  As 
soon  as  it  has  been  thus  modified,  it  becomes  an  article 
of  wealth.  And  nations  and  individuals  are  denomi- 
nated rich,  just  in  proportion  to  the  number  and  mag- 
nitude of  the  articles  which  they  possess,  adapted  to 
gratify  the  desires  of  man. 

We  say  that,  in  order  to  the  production  of  wealth, 
the  substances  of  nature  must  be  modified  by  the  hand 
of  industry.  Here  you  wiU  remark  two  things.  1. 
The  qualities  of  the  substance  must  be  discovered.  2. 
The  means  must  be  discovered  for  giving  it  the  desired 
modification.  He  has  in  himself  no  power  to  modify 
matter,  except  to  the  very  small  amount  of  his  mus- 
cular strength.  By  his  intellectual  ability,  however, 
he  can  discover  and  put  in  operation  agents  that  will 
produce  the  effects  which  he  desires.  To  illustrate 
what  I  mean,  in  the  manufacture  of  sugar.  The 
sweetness,  which  resides  in  the  cane,  must  first  be  dis- 
covered, or  the  vegetable,  though  of  itself  intrinsically 
valuable,  would  be  useless.  This  is  a  work  of  mind. 
Again,  man  has  no  organs  by  which  he  can  transform 
the  juice  into  sugar,  and  unless  it  be  transformed,  his 
former  discovery  is  useless.  He  is  endowed  with  facul- 
53 


418  TKIUMPH  OF  DISC.  XI. 

ties,  by  which  he  can  discover  certain  qualities  of  fire 
and  iron,  which  will  enable  industry  to  produce  the 
required  result.  This  again  we  see  is  a  work  of  mind. 
The  principle  here  illustrated  is  universal.  It  apphes 
to  the  production  of  wealth,  or  objects  for  the  gratifica- 
tion of  desire  every  where.  And  hence  results  the 
universal  law  that,  just  in  proportion  as  the  human 
mind  is  most  successfully  stimulated  to  discovery  and 
invention  and  the  body  inured  to  vigorous  labor,  will 
the  wealth  of  a  nation  increase,  and  it  is  not  possible 
that  it  should  be  increased  in  any  other  manner. 

Now,  it  has  been  found,  by  the  experience  of  ages, 
that  the  strongest  stunulant  which  can  possibly  be 
applied  to  the  productive  energies  both  of  body  and  of 
mind,  is  to  allow  every  man  to  employ  his  whole 
power,  physical  and  intellectual,  in  such  manner  as  he 
chooses,  if  he  do  not  so  employ  it  as  to  interfere  with 
the  corresponding  enjoyment  of  his  neighbour.  In 
other  words,  it  has  been  found  that  nations  grow  rich 
and  happy,  Justin  proportion  as  every  man,  magistrate, 
and  citizen,  estimates  every  other  man's  happiness  as 
dearly  as  his  own ;  that  is  to  say,  when  every  man 
obeys  the  universal  law  of  human  action  contained  in 
the  Scripture,  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thy- 
self" This  is  the  reason  why  justice  clothes  a  nation 
in  plenty,  while  injustice  curses  it  with  want.  This  is 
the  reason  why  so  many  nations  on  the  earth,  with 
meagre  and  stinted  physical  advantages,  abound  in  the 
comforts  and  even  the  luxuries  of  life,  while  regions  of 


DISC.  XI.  THE  REDEEMER.  419 

exhaustless  fertility,  under  a  Mahometan  or  Papal  des- 
potism, live  from  century  to  century  on  the  brink  of 
starvation.  Thus  is  it  that  the  Christian  religion  has 
frequently,  in  a  few  years,  done  more  to  promote  the 
progress  of  civilization,  than  all  other  means  united 
have  ever  done,  in  many  generations. 

But  this  is  not  all.  That  a  nation  may  grow  rich, 
not  only  is  it  necessary  tliat  industry  be  exerted  ;  be- 
side this,  the  instruments,  with  which  it  may  work  and 
the  material  on  which  it  is  to  be  employed,  in  other 
words,  capital,  must  be  accumulated.  If  whatever  is 
produced  be  immediately  consumed  on  the  gratification 
of  the  passions,  not  only  are  the  means  of  future  accu- 
mulation annihilated,  but  the  power  of  the  agent  for 
labor  is  lessened,  and  hence  must  result  an  accelerated 
tendency  to  poverty.  Capital  can  be  accumulated  only 
by  self-denial,  by  the  government  of  the  passions,  by 
investing  all  that  portion  of  the  results  of  industry, 
which  is  not  needed  for  our  temperate  enjoyment,  in 
some  such  manner  as  shall  benefit  the  condition  of  our 
fellow-men.  Now,  this  is  just  the  discipline  for  which 
the  Gospel  prepares  mankind.  Its  first  lesson  is  self- 
denial.  Except  a  man  deny  hunself,  he  cannot  be  my 
disciple.  At  the  very  outset,  then,  it  prescribes  entire 
subjugation  of  the  passions,  the  very  basis  of  all  fru- 
gality. Another  of  its  lessons  is  the  necessity  of  indi- 
vidual and  universal  industr)^  "  This  we  commanded 
you,  that  if  any  man  would  not  work  neither  shall  he 
eat."     Thus,  while  inculcating,  as  religious  duties,  in- 


420  TRIUMPH  OF  DISC.  XI. 

duptry  and  fi'iigality,  the  Gospel  teaches  the  soundest 
and  most  vaUiable  lessons  in  the  science  of  political  eco- 
nomy. That  nations,  as  well  as  individuals,  can  grow 
rich  on  no  other  principles,  is  as  evident  as  demonstra- 
tion. And,  on  the  other  hand,  that  a  nation,  practicing 
the  industry  and  frugality  of  the  Gospel,  must  become 
wealthy,  that  is,  must  abound  in  all  that  is  requisite  to 
satisfy  virtuous  desire,  is  equally  incontestible.  Thus 
we  see  how  closely  is  connected  the  prevalence  of  reli- 
gion with  the  prosperity  of  an  individual  nation. 

Besides,  where  every  individual  is  accumulating,  the 
whole  must  accumulate,  and,  hence,  such  a  nation 
must  have  an  annual  amount  of  wealth  to  offer  in  the 
markets  of  the  world.  But  where  shall  she  offer  it. 
An  indolent  and  profligate  people,  with  imperfect  skill 
and  scanty  capital,  will  have  nothing  to  offer  in  return. 
It  is  not  that  they  do  not  want  the  results  of  your  labor 
and  frugality,  but  that  they  have  nothing  wherewith 
to  purchase  them.  A  degraded  and  vicious  people  can 
never  be  valuable  customers ;  for  they  must  always  be 
very  limited  consumers.  To  be  aware  of  the  force  of 
these  considerations,  compare  our  exports  to  a  heathen, 
with  those  to  a  Christian  nation ;  or  those  to  a  Pro- 
testant, with  those  to  a  Catholic  nation  ;  or  those  to  the 
island  of  Great  Britain,  with  those  to  the  rich  and 
thickly  peopled  shores  of  the  Mediterranean. 

Thus  you  see  that  not  only  is  it  for  the  interest  of 
every  man  that  his  fellow-citizens  should  obey  the  pre- 
cepts of  the  Gospel,  it  is  also  for  the  interest  of  every 


DISC.  XI.  THE  REDEEMER,  421 

nation  that  every  other  nation  should  embrace  it.  So 
thoroughly  is  universal  philanthropy  interwoven  with 
the  social  system  of  this  world.  Thus  necessary  has 
God  made  the  happiness  of  my  fellow-men  to  my  own 
well  being.  An  indolent,  ignorant,  and  badly  governed 
nation  is  a  pecuniary  injury,  as  well  as  a  disgrace,  to 
every  other  nation  on  earth,  and  the  soundest  principles 
of  political  wisdom  would  teach  us  all  to  make  an  effort 
to  reclaim  it.  Our  own  interest,  and  the  interest  of  man 
every  where,  are,  by  the  ordinance  of  the  Creator,  the 
same.  Benevolence  is  always  the  greatest  sagacity. 
Hence,  if  we  would  render  a  nation  a  profitable  cus- 
tomer, the  surest  means  for  accomphshing  our  object  is 
to  furnish  it  with  the  bible,  the  only  certain  means  of 
intellectual  and  moral  improvement. 

To  illustrate  the  truth  of  these  remarks,  allow  me  to 
refer  you  for  a  moment  to  the  history  of  the  African 
slave  trade.  The  whole  slave  coast  and  a  wide  extent 
of  interior  is  fertile  in  all  the  productions  of  a  tropical 
cUmate.  Few  portions  of  the  earth  would  yield  more 
abundantly,  if  submitted  to  the  hand  of  industry,  ren- 
dered skillful  by  education.  And  yet,  what  does  that 
vast  region  export  ?  a  few  cargoes  of  gums  and  ivory, 
and  some  thousands  of  human  bodies.  It  is  almost  a 
wUderness,  and  is  becoming  every  year  more  desolate. 
What  does  it  consume  ?  a  few  cargoes  of  trinkets  and 
coarse  cutlery,  scarcely  as  much  as  one  respectable  ma- 
nufacturing village  would  easily  furnish.  I  ask  you, 
now,  what  would  have  been  the  result  if,  instead  of 


422  TRIUMPH  OK  DISC.  XI. 

murder  and  pillage,  we  had  sent  them  the  Gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  the  civilization  which  always  follows 
in  its  train.  Why,  that  whole  region  would  have  been 
now  as  thickly  peopled  as  these  United  States.  That 
coast  would  have  been  studded  with  cities,  those  rivers 
would  have  been  hned  with  villages ;  the  whole  terri- 
tory would  have  been,  at  this  moment,  blooming  like 
the  garden  of  Eden,  loaded  with  the  abundance  of 
haivest,  and  filled  with  the  abodes  of  civiUzed  man. 
There  is  not  a  workshop,  in  Europe  or  America,  whose 
fabrics  she  would  not  have  purchased,  nor  a  man  in 
Christendom  who  would  not  have  been,  at  this  very 
day,  the  happier  for  her  productions.  You  see,  then, 
from  this  individual  case,  how  intimately  connected 
are  our  interest  and  our  duty.  You  see  how  our  own 
happiness  is  interwoven  with  that  of  every  brother  of 
the  family  of  man.  You  see  that  the  best  desires  of 
the  human  heart  must,  in  the  end,  lead  us  to  choose 
for  ourselves,  and  to  offer  to  others,  the  moral  laws  of 
the  New  Testament ;  for,  in  no  other  manner,  can 
those  desires  be  so  fully  gratified. 

Another  illustration  may  be  taken  from  a  reference 
to  the  awful  miseries  which  war  has,  from  the  earhest 
ages,  inflicted  upon  the  human  race.  This  calamity  is, 
as  you  know,  the  immediate  result  of  the  gratification 
of  human  passion  and  human  avarice.  It  can  never 
cease,  until  men  are  universally  restrained  by  moral 
principle.  Estimate,  if  you  can,  the  amount  of  na- 
tional distress  which  it  has  brought  upon  Europe,  for 


DISC.  XI.  THE  REDEEMER.  423 

the  last  hundred  years.  And,  here,  you  must  remem- 
ber that  all  the  sums  taken  to  support  armies  and 
navies,  and  all  the  property  wasted,  and  all  the  interest 
upon  the  debt  thus  accumulated,  is  so  much  capital 
taken  from  the  shop  of  the  mechanic,  or  the  warehouse 
of  the  merchant,  or  the  granary  of  the  husbandman, 
which  would  otherwise  have  gone  on  increasing  for- 
ever at  the  rate  of  compound  interest.  The  wealth 
consumed  in  wars  on  the  continent,  for  the  last  hundred 
years,  if  it  had  been  suffered  thus  to  accumulate  in 
peace,  would  have  made  every  acre  of  Europe  a  garden, 
and  every  individual  comparatively  rich.  And,  had 
the  principles  of  the  Gospel  universally  prevailed, 
it  would  have  thus  accumulated.  Look  at  the  lesson 
which  Great  Britain  teaches.  Every  political  change 
wrings  from  her  starving  population  a  universal  groan 
of  distress,  at  this  time  almost  intolerable.  But,  now,  take 
the  principle  and  interest  of  her  national  debt,  for  both 
of  them  are  taken  from  the  capital  of  the  people,  and 
estimate  what  would  be  its  amount  at  compound  inter- 
est. It  has  been  spent  in  war  and  bloodshed.  Had  it 
been  accumulated  by  the  arts  of  peace,  to  the  present 
moment,  it  would  be  abundantly  sufficient  to  confer 
education  and  refinement,  and  literal  abundance,  upon 
the  poorest  subject  of  the  realm. 

Now  all.  this,  in  the  progress  of  society,  will  become 
evident  to  every  man.  It  will  be  universally  and  clearly 
seen,  that  men  can  neither  attain  the  happiness  of 
which  the  present  state  is  susceptible,  nor  even  escape 


424  TRIUMPH  OP  DISC.  XI. 

the  miseries  which  now  press  so  heavily  upon  them,  but 
by  obeying  the  precepts  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Hence,  we  say  that  the  elements  of  society  are  so  com- 
bined as  to  tend  to  such  a  residt  as  revelation  has  pre- 
dicted. 

Let  us  now  recapitulate  the  argument  which  we 
have  pursued. 

1.  We  have  endeavored  to  show,  that  there  is  the 
same  reason  to  believe  that  the  bible  will  be  universally 
read,  as  there  is  to  believe  that  any  other  book  will  be 
read,  which  elevates  the  conceptions  and  gratifies  the 
taste.  There  is  the  same  reason  to  beheve  that  it  will 
be  obeyed,  as  there  is  to  believe  that  any  other  precepts 
will  be  obeyed,  that  afford  permanent  relief  to  a  uni- 
versal and  most  distressing  anguish. 

2.  There  is  reason  to  believe,  that  the  attributes  of 
the  Supreme  Creator  are  responsible  for  its  success. 
He  has  seen  fit  to  connect,  indissolubly,  the  proof  of  it 
with  the  principles  on  which  all  evidence  of  every  sort 
rests.  Either  he  is  not  the  author  of  the  ordinary 
events  which  take  place  around  us,  or  he  is  also  the 
author  of  the  extraordinary  events  which  were  un- 
questionably connected  with  the  promulgation  of  the 
Gospel.  He  is  as  much  responsible,  in  one  case  as  in 
the  other,  for  the  belief  which  right  reason  teaches  us. 

3.  The  desire  for  improvement,  in  his  condition, 
which  animates  every  man,  can  be  gratified  only  by 
obeying  the  social  laws  which  his  Creator  has  esta- 
bUshed.     These  laws  arc  the  precepts  of  the  New 


DISC.  XI.  THE  REDEEMER.  425 

Testament.  As  the  progress  of  knowledge  reveals 
more  and  more  clearly  the  indissoluble  connection  be- 
tween the  moral  and  physical  laws  of  nature,  our  very 
desire  of  happiness  will  teach  men,  as  nations  and  in- 
dividuals, the  v/isdom  of  taking,  as  the  rules  of  our 
conduct,  the  precepts  of  the  Saviour.  Now,  what  men 
clearly  perceive  to  be  their  interest,  it  is  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  they  will  do. 

Again,  The  connection  which  this  subject  holds 
with  the  evidences  of  the  truth  of  the  bible  are  various 
and  important.  Each  of  the  topics  which  we  have 
discussed  furnishes  a  separate  and  distinct  medium  of 
proof. 

1.  It  is  not  beyond  the  power  of  human  reason  to 
affirm,  in  general,  what  the  human  mind  can  and  what 
it  cannot  accomplish.  There  is  no  instance  on  record, 
that  I  remember,  in  which  any  human  being  has  been 
many  centuries  in  advance  of  his  age.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  has  been  evident  that,  by  the  general  progress 
of  society,  the  most  remarkable  discoveries  must  soon 
have  been  made  by  others,  if  they  had  not  been  made 
by  the  individuals  whom  they  now  distinguish.  Nay, 
so  remarkably  is  this  the  fact,  that  many  of  the  most 
extraordinary  discoveries  have  been  made  by  several 
persons,  m  different  countries,  at  the  same  time.  But 
here  is  a  case  in  which  a  few  men,  in  general  illiterate, 
and  by  nothing  else  but  moral  character  distinguished 
from  the  lower  class  of  the  nation,  to  which  they  be- 
longed, have  promulgated  a  system  of  moral  truth  not 
54 


426  TRIUMPH  OF  DISC.   Xt. 

only  in  advance  of  their  age,  but  tiie  piofouudest  wis- 
dom of  the  present  day  cannot  tell  how  much  it  is  in 
advance  of  our  own.  The  most  accurate  survey  of 
human  relations  has  not  yet  demonstrated  the  truth  of 
-a  single  moral  law  which  is  not  found  within  those 
pages.  The  infinitely  diversified  relations  of  society 
have  not  yet  given  rise  to  a  single  moral  question 
which  is  not  there  solved.  Age  after  age  attempts  in 
vain  to  discover  a  radical  cure  for  some  form  of  social 
misery,  and,  when  the  cure  is  at  last  discovered,  it  is 
found  to  be  the  very  same  as  Jesus  Christ  and  his  apos- 
tles, nearly  two  thousand  years  ago,  taught.  Now,  I 
say  that  there  is  nothing  parallel  to  this  in  the  whole 
history  of  the  human  mind.  It  as  far  transcends  any 
thing  that  has  been  elsewhere  seen,  of  the  ordinary,  or 
extraordinary  exhibitions  of  intellectual  power,  as  car- 
rying away  the  gates  of  Gaza,  or  overthrowing  the  pil- 
lars of  a  mighty  temple,  transcends  the  ordinary  exhi- 
bitions of  muscular  strength.  Thus,  exclusively  of 
all  proof  from  miracles,  I  see  not  how  the  acknowledged 
facts  can  be  accounted  for,  without  the  admission  of 
divine  interposition.  And,  if  God  have  interposed  at 
all  in  the  case,  the  whole  system  is  true. 

2.  We  are  all  aware  that  all  our  knowledge,  of  exter- 
nal objects  as  well  as  of  past  events,  comes  through  the 
medimn  of  evidence.  By  the  evidence  of  my  senses,  I 
know  that  there  is  a  tree  before  me.  By  the  evidence 
of  testimony,  I  know  that  Rome  was  built.  Overturn 
the  principles  of  evidence,  and  there  is,  at  once,  an  end 


DISC.  XI.  THE  REDEEMER.  427 

to  all  science  and  to  all  history.  No  man  could  know 
any  thing  farther  than  that  he  existed,  and  that  he 
thought.  Now,  it  has  pleased  God  so  to  interweave 
the  proof  of  his  miraculous  interposition,  in  the  pro- 
mulgation of  religion,  with  the  very  principles  of  evi- 
dence, that  he  who  denies  it  must  deny  either  the  evi- 
dence of  sense  or  that  of  testimony.  Hence,  his 
argument  must  undermine  the  whole  fabric  of  our 
knowledge  of  the  past  and  of  the  absent.  And  thus  it 
is  radically  and  unquestionably  subversive  of  itself  It 
proceeds  upon  the  supposition  that  the  events  in  ques- 
tion cannot  be  true,  because  they  are  contrary  to  the 
course  of  nature.  But  this  very  course  of  nature  can 
only  be  established  upon  the  principles  of  evidence 
which  the  olsjection  has  already  denied,  and  hence  the 
very  fabric  of  the  objection,  by  its  own  showing,  cram- 
bles  into  dust.  Thus  would  infidelity,  by  an  argu- 
ment embosoming  \\nthin  itself  its  own  manifest  refu- 
tation, annihilate  knowledge,  dissipate  science,  and 
render  it  unpossible,  on  the  very  principles  of  our  na- 
ture, that  either  should  ever  have  the  shadow  of  an 
existence. 

3,  It  cannot  be  denied  that  man  is  a  material  agent, 
and  subject  to  the  laws  of  matter,  nor  that  the  author 
of  these  laws  is  the  Supreme  Governor  of  the  universe. 
It  is  equally  undeniable,  that  man  is  a  moral  agent, 
subject  also  to  moral  laws,  and  that  the  author  of  these 
laws  is  the  same  supreme  divinity.  If  a  moral  law  of 
this  world  be  discovered,  it  is  as  certain  that  God  or- 


428  TRIUMPH  OF  DISC,  XI. 

dained  it,  at  that  he  ordained  the  laws  of  galvanism  or 
of  electricity.  And,  hence,  the  book  which  contains 
these  laws  is  clearly  God's  word,  and  fully  and  univer- 
sally binding  upon  the  conscience.  Now,  that  the 
New  Testament  does  contain  the  moral  laws  which 
were  ordained  for  this  system,  is  already  clearly  demon- 
strable. For  nothing  is  the  progress  of  science  more 
remarkable,  than  for  the  flood  of  light  which  it  is  pour- 
ing upon  this  subject.  Every  moral  and  every  social 
experiment,  that  has  ever  been  made,  bears  witness  to 
the  same  truth.  And,  hence,  from  its  very  adaptation 
to  the  social  nature  of  man,  the  New  Testament  is 
evidently  the  law  of  God,  and  obhgatory  upon  the 
conscience.  Here  then,  by  another  and  distinct  me- 
dium of  proof,  do  we  arrive  at  the  conclusion  that  the 
Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  sure  word  of  prophecy. 

Christian  brethren,  you  see  how  abundant  is  the  evi- 
dence on  which  the  word  of  our  salvation  rests.  God 
hsis  interwoven  it  with  the  very  principles  of  science, 
that  all  knowledge  must  be  overthrown,  ere  the  foun- 
dation of  our  hope  can  be  undermined.  Nay,  he  has 
so  constructed  the  world,  that  every  thing  we  see  and 
every  thing  we  read  of,  bears  testimony  to  the  truth  of 
revelation.  Let  us,  then,  in  all  the  confidence  of  men 
who  know  that  they  have  not  followed  cunningly  devised 
fables,  urge  upon  our  fellow-men  the  excellency  of  the 
knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord.  Affectionately 
and  zealously,  yet  meekly,  let  us  instruct  those  that  op- 
pose themselves,  that  peradventure  God  may  give  them 


DISC,  XI.  THE  REDEEMER.  429 

repentance  to  the  acknowledging  of  the  truth.  And, 
above  all,  let  us  show,  by  lives  of  consistent  piety,  and 
charity,  that  the  religion  which  we  profess  has  its  pro- 
per effect  upon  our  own  souls.  This  is  an  argument 
which  moves  the  moral  as  well  as  intellectual  nature  of 
man,  and  it  has  thus  far  been  always  irresistible. 

Upon  those  who  disbeheve  the  evidence  of  revelation, 
we  would  urge  a  single  consideration.  Friends  and 
fellow-citizens :  we  have  endeavored  to  set  before  you, 
in  meekness,  and  with  reason,  some  of  the  arguments 
which  convince  us,  that  our  reUgion  is  from  God,  and 
that  it  will  ultimately  prevail.  What  we  urge  certainly 
has  the  appearance  of  truth.  It  is  most  unreasonable 
for  you  to  turn  from  it  without  examination.  With 
the  sincerest  desires  for  your  present  and  your  future 
welfare,  we  respectfully  request  you  patiently,  candidly, 
and  thoroughly,  to  examine  the  subject.  Having  done 
this,  we  cease.  The  responsibility  of  your  eternal 
destiny  is  in  your  own  hands,  and  with  devout  prayers 
that  God  may  lead  you  to  a  knowledge  of  himself, 
there  do  we  leave  it.     Amen. 


Note. — To  the  argument  in  the  preceding  sermon, 
it  has  been  objected,  that  the  author  lias  not  considered 
the  obstacle  to  the  triumph  of  the  Gospel,  arising 
from  the  depravity  of  the  human  heart,  or  its  entire  op- 
position to  hohness.  To  this  objection,  the  answer  is 
briefly  as  follows.  The  argument  is  addressed  either 
to  believers,  or  unbelievers.  To  the  Christian,  the 
declaration  of  God  in  the  scriptures,  that  the  whole 
world  shall  be  converted,  is  a  full  and  sufficient  warrant 
for  entire  belief.  Those  on  the  contrary  who  do  not 
believe  the  bible,  cannot  urge,  as  an  objection,  the  de- 
pravity of  man,  for  tliis  is  a  doctrme  of  revelation, 
whose  authority  they  utterly  disclaim.  Or,  if  they 
urge  it  as  an  objection  drawn  from  books  which  we 
beheve,  we  are  by  aU  the  rules  of  reasoning  allowed  to 
meet  them  with  a  statement  of  the  revealed  doctrine  of 
the  sovereign  and  efficacious  influences  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  which  is  abundantly  sufficient  to  overcome  all 
the  obstacles  arising  from  the  opposition  of  a  sinner's 
heart.  As,  therefore,  the  very  mention  of  the  objection , 
brings  \vith  it  its  own  antidote,  it  was  not  in  the  body 
of  the  discourse  brought  into  the  account. 


DISCOURSE   XII 


THE  TRIUMPHS  OF  TirK  REDEMPTION  OVER  THE  APOSTACV, 


But,  not  as  the  offence,  so  also  ia  the  free  gift.— Rom.  v  15. 

To  illustrate  the  perfections  of  his  nature,  in  pro- 
motmg  the  happiness  of  his  creatures,  is  the  ultimate 
design  of  God,  in  all  his  works,  throughout  all  places  of 
his  dominion.  And,  although  an  attempt  has  been 
made,  to  defeat  this  design,  in  the  creation  of  our 
race ;  yet  he  has  interfered,  in  such  a  manner,  as  not 
only  to  frustrate  this  attempt,  but,  over  and  above  this, 
to  cause  the  wrath  of  the  adversary  to  praise  him.  He 
would  have  disappointed  the  views  and  destroyed  the 
works  of  the  Devil,  in  procuring  the  fall  of  our  first 
parents,  if  he  had  merely  restored  them  to  the  same 
condition,  in  which  they  were  created ; — if,  after  can- 
ceUing  their  obligation  to  punishment,  through  the  me- 
rits of  a  Mediator,  he  had  reinstamped  his  image  upon 
55 


434  TRIUMPHS  OF  DISC.  XII. 

them,  and  renewed  to  them  ttie  employments  and 
pleasures  of  the  garden  of  Eden.  But,  instead  of 
allowing  the  purpose  of  his  grace  to  terminate  here,  he 
has  taken  occasion,  from  the  Apostacy  of  man,  to 
bring  out,  to  the  view  and  admiration  of  the  Universe, 
a  scheme  of  Redemption,  hj  which,  the  ruinous  conse- 
quences of  sin  arc  more  than  repaired  ; — by  which,  his 
own  character  is  rendered  more  glorious,  in  the  view  of 
his  creatures,  than  it  was  before  sin  entered  into  the 
world  ; — and,  by  which,  a  higher  degree  of  dignity  and 
happiness,  is  conferred  upon  man,  than  appertained  to 
him,  in  the  place  of  his  primitive  abode. 

In  conformity  with  this  view  of  the  subject,  we  here 
find  the  Apostle  Paul,  running  a  parallel  between  the 
i-'ALL  of  man,  as  occasioned  by  the  transgression  of 
Adam ;  and  the  recovery  of  man,  as  brought  about 
by  the  intervention  and  the  sacrifice  of  Christ.  The 
sin,  which  Adam  committed,  in  his  public  character,  as 
the  representative  of  his  posterity,  he  denominates 
"  THE  offi:nce  ;"  because,  it  is  the  one  great  act  of 
rebeUion  against  God,  which  has  brought  all  the  mil- 
lions of  his  sons  and  daughters  into  a  state  of  condem- 
nation and  death.  And  the  blessings,  which  are  intro- 
duced into  the  world,  through  the  mediation  of  Christ, 
he  denominates  "the  free  gift;"  because,  they  are 
undeserved,  on  the  part  of  man,  and  flow  spontaneously, 
from  the  sovereign  grace  of  God.  Having  set  these  two 
things  in  opposition  to  each  other,  he  alleges  that  there 
is  A  DIFFERENCE  between  them,— that  they  are  not 


DISC.  XI T.  THE  REDEMPTION,  435 

ALIKE,  in  the  extent  oi  their  operation, — that  the  bene- 
fits of  the  one  are  more  than  sufficient  to  counterba- 
lance the  injuries  and  losses,  which  have  been  sustained, 
by  the  other.  "  Not  as  the  offence,  so  also  is  the  free 
gift :" — Or,  as  the  same  truth  is  otherwise  expressed, 
in  the  twentieth  verse,  "  Where  sin  abounded,  grace  did 
MUCH  MORE  abound." 

By  the  spirit  of  the  passage,  then,  as  thus  explained, 
we  are  led  immediately  to  the  subject,  which  claims 
our  attention,  at  the  present  time, — which  is,  the 
Triumphs  of  the  Redemption  over  the  Apos- 
TACY.  And,  we  shall  endeavor  to  set  before  you,  a 
part  of  the  reality  and  glory  of  these  triumphs,  by  in- 
viting you  to  contemplate  the  Redemption 

T.  In  its  bearings  upon  the  character  of  God  ; 
— in  glorifying  those  perfections  of  his  nature,  which 
the  Apostacy  had  dishonored,  as  well  as,  in  bringing  to 
light  other  views  of  his  character,  of  which  there  were 
no  indications  before  the  Apostacy  occurred.     And 

11.  In  its  influence  upon  the  character  and 
HAPPINESS  OP  man  ] — ill  cxalting  him,  to  a  degree  of 
dignity  and  enjoyment,  siiperior  to  that,  of  which  the 
Apostacy  deprived  him. 

I.  In  the  first  place,  then,  we  invite  you  to  contem- 
plate the  Redemption,  in  its  bearings  upon  the  cha- 
racter OF  God  ; — in  glorifying  those  perfections  of 
his  nature,  which  the  Apostacy  had  dishotiored,  as  well 
as,  in  bringing  to  light  other  views  of  his  character,  of 


•   430  TRIUMPHS  OF  OISC.  XI I. 

which  (here  were  no  indications  iKiforc  the  Apostacy 
tKcinred. 

I  low  far,  and  in  what  hght,  Jehovah  liad  manifested 
himself,  in  other  parts  of  his  empire,  lieforc  the  creation 
and  fall  of  man,  is  a  question,  perhaps,  to  which  we 
have  no  means  of  furnishing  an  adequate  answer.  It 
is  sufficiently  manifest  however,  that,  in  every  thing 
appertaining  to  that  department  of  his  works,  to  which 
we  belong,  he  appeared  as  a  being  of  infinite  perfection 
and  loveliness.  Placing  ourselves,  in  imagination,  by 
the  side  of  our  first  parents,  while  they  remained  in  a 
state  of  innocence — whether  we  lift  our  eyes  to  Heaven, 
and  consider  those  works  of  his  fingers,  which  move 
through  the  wide  expanse ;  or  look  aljroad  over  the  earth, 
and  survey  the  multitude  and  variety  of  creatures,  with 
which  he  has  peopled  the  air,  the  earth,  and  the  sea — 
we  are  every  where  arrested,  by  obvious  traces  of  his 
wisdom  and  power. — At  the  same  time,  we  cannot 
resist  the  conviction,  that  he  is  a  benevolent  being; 
because,  in  addition  to  the  fact,  that  he  can  have  no 
possible  motive  to  be  otherwise^  there  are  convincing 
proofs  of  his  goodness  to  be  seen  throughout  all  his 
works — especially,  in  the  nature,  and  endowments, 
and  condition  of  man.  If  the  Creator  had  brought  him 
into  being,  with  a  malevolent  design,  this  design  would, 
doubtless,  have  been  so  far  accomplished,  as  to  have 
rendered  his  existence  a  source  of  misery.  But,  instead 
of  this,  Adam  no  sooner  became  a  living  soul,  than  he 
rejoiced  in  his  existence  as  desirable,  and  as  constituting 


DISC.  XII.  THE  REDEMPTION.  437 

a  proper  ground  of  thankfulness  to  Goil.  In  tlic  forma- 
tion of  his  )3ody,  as  well  as  in  the  image  and  attributes 
of  his  soul,  there  were  unequivocal  marks  of  a  disposi- 
tion to  make  him  a  happy  jjeing.  And  the  same  dis- 
position, was  evidently  acted  out,  in  arranging  all  the 
external  circumstances,  in  the  midst  of  which  lie  was 
placed.  A  garden,  of  exquisite  beauty  and  fruitfulness, 
was  planted  for  his  accomodation  ; — the  sun,  moon, 
and  stars  were  fixed  in  the  firmament  of  Heaven  to 
give  him  light ; — the  whole  inferior  creation,  were 
placed  under  him,  as  their  lord,  and  gathered  around 
him,  to  contril)ute  to  his  enjoyment ;— his  life  and  hap- 
piness were  suspended,  upon  the  easy  condition  of 
avoichng  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil ; 
— and,  this  condition  complied  with,  he  had  no  reason  to 
anticipate  any  thing,  which  would  cither  molest  him, 
or  make  him  afraid. 

But,  when  we  have  surveyed  this  scene  of  beauty 
and  glory,  from  a  point  of  time  anterior  to  the  Apostacy, 
let  us  transfer  om'selves  to  a  subsequent  period,  and  see 
what  a  dark  and  mysterious  cloud  was  drawn  over  it, 
when  this  event  occurred.  The  noble  structure,  on 
account  of  which,  the  fabric  of  the  material  system  had 
been  built,  is  now  lying  m  ruins !  The  upright  and 
excellent  creature,  whose  head  had  been  crowned  with 
glory  and  honor,  and  on  whose  breast  God  had  im- 
pressed the  image  of  his  own  perfections,  has  been 
permitted  to  abuse  Ills  exalted  privileges — to  divest 
himself  of  the  distinguished  rank  assigned  to  him  in  the 


438  TRIUMPHS  OF  DISC.  XII, 

?!cale  of  being— and,  by  his  follies  and  crimes,  to  de- 
grade himself  to  a  stale  of  pollution,  and  infamy,  and 
eternal  abandonment  from  the  favor  of  liis  Maker ! 
How  is  the  gold  become  dim  !  Hov/  is  the  most  fine 
gold  changed  !  And,  what  shall  we  now  say,  of  the 
propriety  of  creating  a  world,  which  was  to  become  the 
theatre  of  such  a  catastrophe  as  this  ?  Why  were  the 
wisdom  and  power  of  God  employed,  in  making  such 
extensive  preparations,  for  the  accommodation  of  a 
creature,  who  was  so  soon  to  despise  his  birthright,  and 
bring  himself  down  to  a  state  of  utter  degradation  and 
despair?  Or  what  was  there,  in  the  momentary 
pleasures,  which  he  enjoyed  before  his  fall,  to  compen- 
sate for  the  shame  and  everlasting  contempt,  which  he 
is  now  doomed  to  suffer  ? — It  is  not  a  satisfactory  an- 
swer to  this  inquiry,  to  say — that  the  fall  of  man  was 
his  own  voluntary  act,  and  that  the  character  of  God 
should  not  be  "  evil  spoken  of,"  on  account  of  his  con- 
duct in  destroying  himself,— that  the  wisdom  and  bene- 
volence of  the  Creator,  are  not  less  to  be  admired, 
because  the  creature  has  chosen  to  forfeit  the  blessings 
and  priviUges,  which  these  attributes  have  conferred 
upon  him — and,  therefore,  that  all  the  darknesss  and 
horror  of  the  dispensation  is  attributable  to  man  him- 
self, and  not,  in  any  measure,  to  the  Author  of  his 
existence :  Because,  we  are  here  met  by  the  reflexion, 
that  God  seeth  the  end  from  tlie  beginning — that  he 
foreknows,  because  he  foreordains,  whatsoever  comes  to 
pass.     Without   stopping,  at  .present,  to  discuss  the 


DISC.  XII.  THE  REDEMPTION.  439 

question,  which  relates  to  the  nature  of  this  ordination, 
we  may  safely  affirm,  that,  when  he  spread  out  the 
Heavens,  and  stretched  his  hne  upon  the  foundations 
of  the  earth,  he  had  the  fall  of  man  distinctly  before  his 
infinite  mind.  He  saw,  that  the  system,  which  he  was 
about  to  create,  would,  without  any  peradventure,  be 
darkened  and  defiled,  l^y  the  introduction  of  sin.  And 
therefore,  the  question  still  returns,  encumbered  with 
all  its  difficulties,  why  did  he  not  refrain  from  origi- 
nating- and  unfolding  a  scheme,  which  was  to  lead, 
with  infallible  success,  to  the  production  of  this  result  ? 
At  this  point,  in  the  progress  of  our  reflexions,  the 
scheme  of  the  Redemption  comes  in,  and  exonerates 
the  character  of  God,  by  informing  us,  that  the  hopeless 
condemnation  of  man  for  his  apostacy,  was  no  part  of 
the  eternal  purpose,  which  he  had  purposed  in  himself; 
— that,  before  the  fall  of  man  occurred,  he  had  deter- 
mined to  engraft  upon  this  event,  a  new  system  of  ope- 
rations ;  and,  thereby,  to  convince  the  whole  intelligent 
creation,  that,  as  sin  hath  reigned  unto  death,  even  so 
might  grace  reign,  through  righteousness,  unto  eternal 
life. — As  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  this  scheme,  he 
draws  near  to  the  scene  of  the  Apostacy ;  and,  contem- 
plating the  condition  of  the  fallen  creature,  until  his 
bowels  of  compassion  begin  to  move,  He  takes  him  up, 
with  all  his  guilt  and  pollution  upon  him — delivers  him 
from  the  curse  of  the  law — changes  his  heart,  from  the 
love  of  sin,  to  the  love  of  holiness — purifies  him  from  all 
filtliiness  of  the  flesh  and  spirit— and,  finally,  translates 


440  TRIUMPHS  OF  DISC.  XI F. 

Iiiiii  to  auotliei  and  more  delightful  |)art  of  his  doiuiii- 
ioiis,  there  to  be  confirmed,  in  tlie  enjoyment  of  an 
exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory.  And,  when  we 
review  his  character  in  the  Ught  of  tliis  consummation 
— when  we  see  the  creature,  whom  his  wisdom  permit- 
ted to  fall,  restored,  by  his  comjmssion  and  grace,  to  a 
higher  and  more  dehghtfid  habitation,  than  he  occu- 
pied before  he  fell — when,  instead  of  suffering  for  his 
sins,  or  even  reposing  amidst  the  groves  of  an  earthly 
garden,  we  behold  him  walking  over  the  green  pastures, 
and  beside  the  still  waters  of  the  heavenly  Paradise — 
wc  are  prepared  to  surrender  all  our  unworthy  suspi- 
cions ;  and  to  exclaim,  without  any  reservation,  "Thou 
art  worthy,  O  Lord,  to  receive  glory,  and  honor,  and 
power !" 

As  interfering  with  this  view  of  the  subject,  it  may 
indeed  be  said,  that  the  Redemption  takes  eflect,  only 
upon  A  PART  of  the  apostate  race, — that  millions  of 
the  human  family  live  and  die,  without  an  interest  in 
its  promises, — and  therefore,  that,  however  the  charac- 
ter of  God  may  be  justified,  in  the  case  of  those  who 
are  saved,  his  benevolence  is  still  impeached  in  the  case 
of  them  that  are  lost.  The  force  of  this  objection,  how- 
ever, may  be  done  away,  by  remembering,  that  the 
only  reason  why  the  administration  of  this  scheme  is 
accompanied  by  the  condemnation  of  any,  is,  that  they 
perseveringly  refuse  to  acquiesce  in  the  method  of  sal- 
vation which  it  proposes.  It  proclaims  to  all  those,  to 
whom  it  comes,  that  God  has  no  pleasure  at  all, 


DISC.  XII.  THE  REDEMPTION.  441 

in  the  death  of  those  who  reject  the  offers  of  his 
grace, — that  whosoever  will  may  take  of  the  foun- 
tain of  the  water  of  hfe  freely, — and  that  he  would 
RATHER  that  the  wicked  would  tuin  from  his  evil  way 
and  live.  And  if  men  are  so  depraved,  as  to  resist  the 
tendejness  of  this  appeal,  and  force  their  way  to  destruc- 
tion, in  opposition  to  the  means  which  are  thus  used  to 
reclaim  them,  they  can  have  no  reason  to  call  in  ques- 
tion his  goodness,  or  to  complain  of  his  severity.  He 
has  offered  them  forgiveness  and  eternal  hfe,  as  a  free 
gift,  and  they  are  unwilling  to  receive  it ; — they  have 
undervalued  and  despised  his  compassion,  as  well  as 
transgressed  his  law ;— and  therefore,  it  behooves  him, 
as  the  wise  and  righteous  Governor  of  the  universe,  to 
punish  them,  m  such  a  manner,  as  will  show,  that, 
while  he  is  "abundant  in  goodness,"  he  "will  by  no 
means  clear  the  guilty." 

Nor  let  it  be  supposed,  that  the  benevolence  of  God, 
as  recovered  and  set  forth  in  the  scheme  of  Redemption, 
is  at  all  obscured,  by  the  fact,  that  a  large  proportion  of 
the  human  race  are  enveloped  in  the  darkness  of  hea- 
thenism ; — and,  therefore,  have  no  access  to  the  know- 
ledge and  offers  of  salvation.  To  those  who  reply 
against  Him,  by  urging  this  objection,  methinks  1  hear 
him  condescending  to  say, "  what  could  have  been  done 
more  to  my  vineyard,  that  1  have  not  done  in  it  ?  1 
revealed  the  method  of  grace  and  salvation,  to  your 
first  parents,  before  any  of  their  children  were  born ; 
and,  thus,  afforded  them  an  opportunity  of  transmitting 
56 


442  TRIUMPHS  OF  DISC.  XII. 

a  knowledge  of  its  existence  and  blessings,  to  all  the 
families  of  their  posterity.  After  the  Ught  of  this 
knowledge  was  lost,  amid  the  growing  wickedness  of 
succeeding  generations,  I  interfered,  in  righteous  judg- 
ment, to  prevent  the  multiplication  of  those  who  were 
born  in  ignorance  ; — I  sent  the  waters  of  a  deluge,  to 
sweep  away  the  race  of  the  ungodly  ; — and  caused  the 
earth  to  be  repeopled,  by  a  family,  the  head  of  which 
was  'a  preacher  of  righteousness,'  and  all  the^members 
of  which  had  enjoyed  the  benefit  of  his  instructions. 
And,  that  all  may  be  still  farther  convinced  that  I  am 
good  and  gracious,  I  have  resolved  to  interfere  once 
more — not  by  destroying  those,  who  are  sunk  in  igno- 
rance and  gaiilt,  and  again  reducing  the  human  race 
within  the  compass  of  a  single  family — but,  by  select- 
ing and  sending  forth  ambassadors,  who  shall  circulate 
the  tidings  of  salvation,  until  a  knowledge  of  my 
'  good-will  to  men,' '  shall  cover  the  earth,  as  the  waters 
cover  the  sea.'  In  addition  to  this,  there  are  other  views 
of  this  subject,  to  be  presented  to  the  consideration  of 
ihe  intelligent  universe,  at  a  future  time :  '  what  I  do, 
thou  knowest  not  now,  but  thou  slialt  know  hereafter  :' 
the  day  of  the  revelation  of  my  righteous  judgment  is 
coming  on  apace :  and,  in  the  clearer  light  and  more 
extensive  discoveries  of  that  day,  every  knee  shall  bow 
and  every  tongue  confess,  that  wisdom  and  benevolence, 
as  well  as  justice  and  judgment,  are  the  habitation  of 
my  throne." 


DISC.   Xrt.  THE  REDEMPTION.  443 

Returning-  from  this  digression,  we  proceed  to  re- 
mark, that  the  Redemption,  not  only  brings  out  the 
character  of  God,  from  behind  the  cloud,  which  the 
apostacy  had  interposed,  but  discloses  new  views  of 
his  nature,  of  which  there  were  no  indications,  in  any 
of  his  previous  works.  It  is  in  the  constitution  and 
developement  of  this  scheme  alone,  that  Jehovah 
comes  forward,  to  the  view  of  his  creatures,  in  the 
gieat  mystery  of  his  existence,  as  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Ghost.  And  througii  the  medium  of  this 
discovery,  increasing  and  overpowering  rays  of  light 
break  in  upon  his  character  from  every  quarter.  The 
attribute  of  mercy,  makes  its  appearance,  for  the  first 
time,  and  assumes  a  conspicuous  place.  The  riches  of 
his  FORBEARANCE  and  LONG-SUFFERING  are  brought 
into  visible  existence.  And  the  demands  of  his  law, 
are  shown  to  be  consistent,  with  the  claims  of  compas- 
sion. The  Father  appears,  in  the  character  of  liaw- 
giver  and  Judge,  as  entertaining  an  inflexible  resolution 
to  punish  sin,  and  yet,  as  cherishing  an  unquenchable 
love  for  sinners  :  in  his  wisdom,  he  finds  out  a  method, 
by  which  his  mercy  and  truth  can  meet  together,  in 
saving  them  from  destruction  :  he  so  loves  the  world  as 
to  give  his  only  begotten  Son,  to  perform  the  work  of  a 
mediator,  between  him  and  his  fallen  creatures :  he 
proclaims  his  willingness  to  accept  of  his  obedience 
and  sufferings,  as  a  substitute  for  their  punishment : 
and  he  declares,  that  all  who  believe  in  him,  as  the 
aj^ointed  Saviour  of  them  that  are  lost,  shall  be  par- 


444  TRIUMPHS  OF  DISC.  XII. 

doned  and  restored  to  favor.  At  the  same  time,  the  Son 
is  brouirht  before  us,  as  descending  from  the  Eternal 
Throne,  and  assuming  the  form  of  a  servant,  in  order 
to  accomphsh  the  work  which  the  Father  has  given 
him  to  do :  exclaiming  with  cheerfulness,  "  Lo  I  come, 
(in  the  volume  of  the  book,  it  is  written  of  me)  to  do 
thy  will  O  God,-'  he  enters  the  world  in  the  character 
of  a  man  of  no  reputation  :  he  submits  to  the  tempta- 
tions of  the  devil,  and  the  contradiction  of  sinners  :  he 
endures  the  ignominy  and  agonies  of  a  painful  and 
accursed  death :  and  he  resists  every  temptation  to 
abandon  this  work,  before  it  is  finished,  by  saying,  "The 
cup  which  my  Father  hath  given  me,  shall  I  not  drink 
it?"  And  wliile  the  Father  and  the  Son  are  thus  re- 
vealed, the  Holy  Ghost  is  also  manifested,  as  employ- 
ing his  influence  in  the  furtherance  of  the  same  gene- 
ral design :  he  inclines  the  heart  of  fallen  man,  to 
accept  the  pardon,  which  the  Father  offers,  through  the 
sacrifice  of  the  Son  :  he  renews  and  sanctifies  the  soul, 
which  has  been  depraved  and  polluted  by  sin :  and  he 
dwells  in  the  heart  of  the  new-born  creature,  as  a  Com- 
forter and  Guide,  until  he  arrives  at  the  end  of  his  pil- 
grimage, and  is  translated  to  the  place  of  his  eternal 
rest. 

And  besides  eliciting  these  views  of  the  cliaracter  of 
God,  which  are  entireUj  new,  the  Redemption  also 
throws  a  stronger  hght  upon  those  attributes  of  his 
nature,  whicli  were  partially  revealed  ;  and  adds  to 
the  revenue  of  praise,  which  they  are  worthy  to  receive. 


DISC.  XII  THE  REDEMPTION  445 

Contemplate  this  remark,  in  its  application  to  his  wis- 
dom and  POWER.     Obvious  traces  of  these  attributes 
were  to  be  seen,  in  the  field  of  creation,  which  was 
open  to  our  first  parents,  when  they  were  brought  into 
being ;  but  how  is  our  admiration  of  theii-  glory  in- 
creased, in  view  of  his  marvellous  and  mighty  works, 
"in    bringing    many    sons    unto    glory!"      Survey 
the    wondrous    scheme    of  salvation,    either    in    its 
contrivance,  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  or  in 
its  execution,  in  the  fullness  of  time  :  think  of  the  diffi- 
culty of  punishing  sin,  and  yet  savmg  the  sinner — of 
inflicting  the  curse,  and  yet  dispensing  mercy — of  mag- 
nifying the  law,  and  yet  remitting  its  penalty — of  main- 
taining the  honor  of  the  divine  government,  and  yet 
restoring  the  rebel  against  its  interests  to  happiness  and 
Heaven  :  fix  your  attention  especially  on  the  character 
of  the  Mediator — on  the  wonderful  constitution  of  his 
person  and  on  the  variety  and  manner  of  his  triumphs 
over  the  power  and  policy  of  Satan  :  see  him,  adored  by 
the  angels  from  Heaven,  and  by  the  wise  men  of  the 
East,  though  born  in  a  stable,  and  lying  in  a  manger : 
behold  him,  surrounded  by  a  few  fishermen  and  publi- 
cans, and,  thereby,  confounding  the  wisdom  of  philoso- 
phers and  abasing  the  pride  of  kings :  think  of  him, 
spoihng  principahties  and  powers,  by  means  of  his  ap- 
prehension and  crucifixion  as  a  malefactor — conquering 
death  and  disarming  it  of  its  sting,  while  wrapped  in  a 
winding  sheets,  and  laid  in  a  tomb — and,  after  he  arose, 
employing  the  persecution  of  his  followers,  as  the  in- 


446  TRIUMPHS  OF  DISC,  XII. 

strnment  of  lifting  up  the  standard  of  his  cross,  in  every 
land :  think,  again,  of  the  natural  character  and  condi- 
tion of  those  who  arc  saved,  and  of  the  variety  and 
power  of  the  measures,  which  are  employed,  in  pre- 
paring them  for  Heaven — in  subduing  the  enmity  of 
their  minds,  and  bringing  them  to  repentance — in  con- 
vincing them  of  their  guilt  and  leaxiing  them  to  "  the 
Lamb  of  God  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world" — in  sanctifying  them  through  the  truth,  sus- 
taining them  under  their  afflictions,  and  l^ruising 
Satan  under  their  feet :  think,  moreover,  of  the  diffi- 
culties and  effects,  of  extending  the  knowledge  and 
benefits  of  the  Gospel  to  every  creature — of  casting 
down  every  high  thing,  which  exalts  itself  against  the 
progress  of  its  truth — of  confining  the  adversary  to  the 
bottomless  pit,  that  he  may  no  longer  deceive  the  inha- 
bitants of  the  earth — of  converting  the  swords  of  all 
the  nations  into  ploughshares,  and  their  spears  into  pru- 
ning-hooks,  so  as  to  produce  abundance  of  peace,  as 
long  as  the  earth  remaineth — and  of,  thereby,  turning 
the  wilderness  into  a  fruitful  field  and  causing  the 
desert  to  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose :  and,  finally, 
think  of  the  resurrection  both  of  the  just  and  of  the  un- 
just— of  all  that  are  in  their  graves  hearing  the  voice 
of  the  Son  of  God  and  coming  fortli — of  the  Heavens 
departing  with  a  great  noise,  and  the  earth  encircled  by 
the  fires  of  a  universal  conflagration — of  the  wicked 
consigned  to  everlasting  punishment,  and  the  righteous 
exalted  to  Ufe  eternal.     And,  in  view  of  these  exhibi- 


DISC.  XII.  THE  REDEMPTION.  447 

tions  of  divine  wisdom  and  power,  you  may  well  con- 
fess, that  all  previous  manifestations  of  these  attributes 
have  "  no  glory,  by  reason  of  the  glory  which  excel- 
ieth." 

The  same  remark  will  apply,  with  equal  propriety, 
to  the  HOLINESS  and  justice  of  God,  Evidences  of 
these  attributes  were  to  be  seen,  before  the  fall,  in  the 
character  in  which  man  was  created — in  the  properties 
and  penalty  of  the  law,  under  the  operation  of  which 
he  was  placed — and  in  the  arraignment  and  condem- 
nation of  the  angels  "  that  kept  not  their  first  estate." 
But  how  is  the  brightness  of  these  manifestations 
increased,  when  we  bring  before  our  minds  the  promi- 
nent events,  which  occur  under  the  mediatorial  reign 
of  Jesus  Christ, — when  we  go  back  to  the  old  world,  and 
see  it  overspread  by  a  deluge  of  water,  because  the 
wickedness  of  man  was  great  in  the  earth — when  we 
visit  the  plain  of  Sodom,  and  see  the  fire  and  brim- 
stone descending  from  God  out  of  Heaven, — when  we 
go  up  to  the  summit  of  Mount  Sinai,  where  God  spake 
with  a  voice,  and  delivered  his  law,  while  the  noise  of  the 
trumpet  waxed  louder  and  louder, — when  we  enter  the 
abodes  of  the  lost,  and  contemplate  the  end  of  them  that 
obey  not  the  Gospel, — and,  more  than  all,  when  we 
advance  to  the  scene  of  the  crucifixion,  and  behold  the 
victim  of  Divine  Justice,  expiring  as  a  sacrifice  for  sin. 
As  a  person  of  the  Godhead,  he  was  a  Son  whom  the 
Father  loved ;  and  yet,  when  he  offered  himself,  as  the 
friend  and  substitute  of  sinners,  there  was  no  mitiga- 


448  TRIUMPHS  OP  DISC.   XII. 

tion  of  the  lequirement,  or  penalty  of  the  law :  the 
wrath  of  God  was  poured  out  upon  him,  until  his 
sweat  was,  as  it  were,  great  drops  of  blood  falling  down 
to  the  ground, — until  he  asked,  with  strong  crying  and 
tears,  "  O  my  Father  !  if  it  be  possible,  let 
THIS  CUP  PASS  FROM  ME," — Until  lie  cxclaimed,  in  the 
agony  and  bitterness  of  his  feeUngs,  "  My  God  !  my 
God  !  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?" — Here  is 
an  event,  which  proclaims,  with  a  voice  a  thousand 
times  louder  and  more  impressive  than  all  others  com- 
bined, that  the  Lord  our  God  is  holy,  and  that  he  "  will 
by  no  means  clear  the  guilty." 

Moreover,  the  Redemption  has  an  extensive  effect,  in 
enlarging  and  elevating  our  conceptions  of  the  truth 
and  faithfulness  of  God.  In  the  primitive  condi- 
tion of  the  world,  the^  attributes  apppeared,  in  fulfUhng 
the  threatened  curse  upon  the  fallen  angels,  and  also,  in 
bestowing  all  the  good  which  was  promised  or  implied, 
in  the  covenant  which  was  made  with  our  first  parents. 
But  who  can  recount  the  number  and  variety  of  cases, 
in  which  the  same  perfections  are  revealed,  in  those 
works  of  providence,  which  belong  to  the  administra- 
tion of  grace  ?  We  might  bring  before  your  .  minds  a 
long  catalogue  of  predictions,  and  promises,  and 
threatenings :  we  might  refer  you  to  the  prophecies 
which  relate  to  the  advent  of  the  Messiah — to  his  cha- 
racter and  condition,  during  the  period  of  his  humilia- 
tion—to the  circumstances  attending  his  death — and 
to  the  glorious  triumphs  of  his  resurrection  and  ascen- 


DISC.  3CII.  THE  REDEMPTION.  449 

sion  :  we  might  tell  you  of  the  pledge  which  the  Fa- 
ther has  given  to  the  Son,  that  lie  shall  see  of  the 
travail  of  his  soul  and  be  satisfied,  and  that  he  shall 
reign  until  all  enemies  are  put  under  his  feet:  we 
might  remind  you  of  the  numerous  engagements  of 
God  to  his  church  and  people,  that  the  gates  of  hell 
shall  never  prevail  against  them,  as  a  Ijody  ;  and  that 
all  things  shall  work  together  for  their  good,  as  indivi- 
duals :  and  we  might  direct  your  attention  to  a  thou- 
sand judgments  of  his  mouth,  respecting  the  punish- 
ment of  the  wicked,  both  in  this  world,  and  m  that 
which  is  to  come.  And  having  done  this,  we  might 
say  in  regard  to  all  these  particulars,  as  far  as  the  time 
of  theii-  fulfilment  has  arrived,  that  "  not  one  thing 
hath  failed" — that  "  all  are  come  to  pass." 

But  the  limits  of  tliis  exercise  will  not  allow  us  to 
pursue  the  illustration  of  this  part  of  the  subject  any 
farther :  nor  is  it  necessary  in  reference  to  the  main 
point,  which  we  have  in  view.  We  have  follov/ed  the 
Triumphs  of  the  Redemption  far  enough  to  see,  that, 
while  it  redeems  and  re-establishes  the  character  of 
God,  in  those  respects  in  which  it  would  otherwise  have 
been  dishonored  by  the  Apostacy,  it  also  brings  to  light 
a  variety  of  other  and  more  glorious  views  of  his  na- 
ture, of  which  there  were  no  traces  in  any  of  the  pre- 
vious works  of  creation  or  pi'ovidence. 

We  now  direct  your  attention, 

II.  To  its  influence  upon  the  character  and 
HAPPINESS  OP  MAN  ; — in  exalting  him,  to  a  degiee  of 
57 


450  TRIUMPHS  OF  DISC.  XII. 

dignity  and  enjoyment,  superior  to  that,  of  which  the 
Apostacy  deprived  him. 

In  entering  on  this  topic,  my  hearers,  I  do  not  forget, 
that,  as  partakers  in  the  benefits  of  the  Redemption, 
"  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be ;" — and  there- 
fore that,  for  the  present,  we  must  content  ourselves 
with  knowing  and  phophecying  "in  part."  At  the 
same  time,  I  also  remember,  that,  as  in  the  natural 
world,  there  are  first  fruits  of  the  ground,  which  cheer 
the  heart  of  the  husbandman,  inasmuch  as  they  exhibit 
a  sign  and  a  pledge  of  the  approaching  harvest,  so,  in 
the  moral  world,  there  are  "  first  fruits  of  the  spirit," 
which  point  us  to  the  consummation  of  all  things,  and 
atibrd  us  some  idea  of  "  the  glory  which  shall  be  re- 
vealed in  us,  when  "that  which  is  perfect  shall  be 
come,"  and  "  that  which  is  in  part  shaU  be  done  away." 

Even  in  the  present  life,  there  are  graces  and  virtues 
brought  into  existence,  by  means  of  the  Redemption, 
which  place  the  recovered  sinner  on  a  much  more  lofty 
eminence,  ill  some  respects,  than  was  occupied  by  Adam 
before  he  fell.  That  he  was  a  perfectly  holy  being  is 
not,  indeed,  to  be  denied.  AU  the  affections  of  his 
heart,  and  all  the  actions  of  his  life,  were  in  perfect 
conformity  with  the  will  of  God.  But  his  views  of  the 
Divine  character  were  comparatively  limited  and  ob- 
scure ;  and  therefore,  he  had  fewer  objects  of  faith  pre- 
sented to  his  mind,  and  less  important  considerations  to 
excite  his  love.  He  was  acquainted  with  God  as  Cre- 
ator and  Preserver ;  but  he  knew  him  not,  in  the  great 


iJISC.  Xll.  rril5  REDEMPTION.  151 

mystery  of  godliness,  as  the  Savioui  of  them  that  were 
lost.  He  was  ignorant  of  the  Father,  as  loving  a 
world  of  inexcusable  rebels,  and  giving  his  only  Son 
to  die  for  their  salvation  ; — he  had  never  heard  of  the 
Son,  as  bearing  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree, 
and  therefore  had  never  been  made  conformal:»le  to  his 
death,  or  felt  the  power  of  his  resmrection  ; — and  he 
had  no  information  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  proceeding 
from  the  Father  and  the  Son,  to  open  the  eyes  of  the 
bUnd,  and  turn  them  from  darkness  to  light,  and  from 
the  power  of  Satan  unto  God.  The  consequence  is, 
that  the  humblest  saint  on  earth,  believes  in  God,  in  a 
variety  of  respects,  in  which  our  first  parents  had  no 
faith  at  all,  and  entertains  an  affection  for  God,  on 
account  of  a  variety  of  important  and  affecting  reasons, 
which  were  never  brought  to  bear  upon  their  minds. 

And  while  the  subject  of  redeeming  grace  has  more 
faith  and  love  than  belonged  to  Adam  in  a  state  of 
innocence,  he  has  the  advantage,  in  regard  to  that  nu- 
merous class  of  virtues  and  graces,  which  are  taught  in 
the  school  of  affliction.  Before  sin  entered  into  the 
world,  there  was  no  theatre  on  which  these  virtues 
could  be  displayed.  For  how  could  there  be  firmness 
and  fortitude,  where  there  were  no  dangers  to  be  encoun- 
tered, and  no  foes  to  be  conquered  ?  How  could  there 
be  meekness  and  patience,  where  there  were  no  injuries 
to  be  forgiven,  and  no  sufferings  to  be  endured  ?  How 
could  there  be  self-abasement,  where  there  was  no  trans- 
gression ? — resignation,  where  there  was  no  bereave- 


452  TRIUMPHS  OF  DISC.  XII. 

ment? — pity,  where  there  was  no  distress? — charity, 
where  there  were  no  wants  ? — or  a  trial  of  faith  and 
hope,  where  there  were  no  temptations  to  unbeUef  and 
despair? — And,  as  these  ennobhng  emotions  of  the 
human  soul  had  no  dwelling-place  in  the  paradise  of 
bliss,  neither  could  they  have  been  brought  into  exist- 
ence, if  the  fall  of  man  had  been  a  final  measure,  and 
all  the  race  had  been  sentenced,  without  hope,  to  a  state 
of  endless  despair.  Here,  therefore,  the  Triumphs  of 
the  Redemption  are  visible  and  glorious.  It  allows 
those  sufferings,  which  are  the  consequence  of  the 
Apostacy,  in  some  measure,  to  continue ;  and  yet  over- 
rules them,  as  the  means  of  exalting  the  moral  charac- 
ter of  them  that  are  saved,  and  raising  them  to  a  higher 
and  more  dignified  station  in  the  scale  of  being. — To 
form  some  idea  of  the  important  and  extensive  bearings 
of  this  remark,  look,  for  one  moment,  at  the  character 
of  an  individual,  who  is  born  again  under  the  admi- 
nistration of  Divine  grace,  and  see  what  an  assemblage 
of  high  and  heroic  qualities  are  gathered  around  him, 
to  which  he  must  always  have  been  a  stranger,  if  sin 
and  suffering  had  never  been  introduced  into  the  world. 
Look  at  the  father  of  the  faithful,  wandering  as  an 
outcast  from  his  native  land — dwelling  in  tabernacles, 
with  Isaac  and  Jacob,  the  heirs  with  him  of  the  same 
promise — binding  his  only  son  upon  the  altar  of  sacri- 
fice, and  lifting  up  his  hand  to  plunge  the  instrument 
of  death  into  his  bosom — accounting  that  God  was 
able  to  raise  him  up,  even  from  the  dead.     Look  at 


DISC.  XII.  THE  REDEMPTION.  453 

Moses,  after  floating  in  his  ark  of  bulrushes  on  the 
waters  of  the  Nile,  coming  to  years  of  discretion,  and 
spurning  all  the  honors  of  a  court,  for  the  sake  of  his 
country,  and  for  the  honor  of  his  country's  God — for- 
saking Egypt,  in  the  exercise  of  faith,  not  fearing  the 
wrath  of  the  king — and  choosing  rather,  to  suffer  afflic- 
tion with  the  people  of  God,  than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures 
of  sin,  for  a  season.  Look  again  at  Gideon,  and  Ba- 
rak, and  Samson,  and  Jeptha,  David  also,  and  Samuel, 
and  the  Prophets,  subduing  kingdoms — working  right- 
eousness— obtaining  promises — stopping  the  mouths  of 
lions — quenching  the  violence  of  fire — escaping  the 
edge  of  the  sword — waxing  valiant  in  fight — and 
turning  to  flight  the  armies  of  the  aliens.  Look  at 
Paul,  the  messenger  of  God  to  the  Gentiles — troubled 
on  every  side,  yet  not  distressed — perplexed,  but  not  in 
despair- — persecuted,  but  not  forsaken — cast  down,  but 
not  destro)^ed — trusting  in  his  Redeemer,  while  sur- 
rounded with  danger — and  exclaiming,  in  view  of  the 
things  which  were  to  befall  him  at  Jerusalem,  "  None 
of  these  things  move  me ;  neither  count  I  my  hfe  dear 
unto  myself,  so  that  I  may  finish  my  course  with  joy 
and  the  ministry  which  I  have  received  of  the  Lord 
Jesus."  Or,  to  come  still  nearer  to  ourselves,  look  at 
the  Martins  and  Brainerds  of  modern  times — submit- 
ting to  privation  and  fatigue,  in  all  their  forms,  for  the 
sake  of  Christ  and  the  advancement  of  his  kingdom — 
entertaining  a  love  for  the  souls  of  then-  fellow-men, 
and  for  the  glory  of  God,  which  is  stronger  than  death 


454  TRIUMPHS  OF  DISC.  Xtl. 

—leaving  father  and  mother  and  brethren  and  sisters 
and  Iioiises  and  lands,  to  preach  among  the  Heathen 
the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ.  In  each  of  these 
cases  you  behold  the  "  new-creature/'  which  the  Re- 
demption has  formed  out  of  the  ruins  of  the  fall.  And 
while  we  trace  the  Unes  of  dignity  and  beauty,  which 
he  exhibits,  even  in  his  present  unfinished  state,  is  it 
saying  too  much  to  affirm,  that  we  have  before  us,  a 
higher  style  of  character,  than  was  seen  in  the  person 
of  Adam,  as  he  came  from  the  hands  of  his  Creator  ? 
Adam  was  a  servant  of  God,  in  conformity  with  the 
inclination  and  tendency  of  his  holy  nature,  and  with- 
out any  inducement  or  temptation  to  be  otherwise ;  but 
the  heir  of  salvation  is  a  servant  of  God,  against  flesh 
and  blood,  against  principalities  and  powers,  against  the 
rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  world,  and  spiritual  wick- 
edness in  high  places : — Adam  was  resigned  to  the  will 
of  God,  in  the  midst  of  uninterrupted  and  unchanging 
prosperity;  but  the  follower  of  Jesus  Christ  exclaims, 
"  Father  !  not  my  will,  but  thine  be  done,"  in  tribula- 
tion and  distress,  in  weariness  and  painfulness,  in  hun- 
ger and  thirst,  and  in  cold  and  nakedness  : — Adam  was 
beneficent  in  all  his  actions,  while  every  thing,  around 
him  was  calculated  to  favor  his  purpose  ;  but  the  sol- 
dier of  the  cross  goes  about  doing  good,  in  the  face  of 
ingratitude  and  reproach,  yea,  moreover,  of  stripes  and 
imprisonment,  and  dungeons,  and  death.  In  short,  all 
the  virtues  of  the  first  man  were  cherished  without 
opposition,  while  all  the  graces  of  the  new-creature 


DISC.  XII.  THE  REDEMPTIOxV.  455 

are  brought  into  exercise  amidst  obstacles,  from  within, 
and  from  without.  And,  when  we  behold  him  going 
forth,  in  view  of  these  obstacles,  conquering  and  to 
conquer, — when  we  see  him  advancing,  with  a  steady 
pace,  amidst  hardships  and  dangers,  to  the  rest  that 
remaineth  for  the  people  of  God — rejoicing  in  hope — 
patient  in  tribulation — and  holding  fast  the  beginning 
of  his  confidence  unto  the  end ;  we  cannot  but  confess, 
that,  in  the  features  of  his  character,  there  is  a  dignity 
and  greatness,  which  did  not  belong  to  our  first  parents, 
while  they  remained  in  a  state  of  innocence. 

At  the  same  time,  it  must  be  confessed,  that  there  is 
one  respect,  in  which  the  subject  of  the  Redemption 
always  remains  inferior  to  the  first  Adam,  while  he 
continues  in  the  present  world.  Amidst  all  the  new 
and  higher  virtues,  which  improve  and  elevate  the  style 
of  his  character,  the  most  eminent  saint  on  earth  is 
sanctified  only  in  part :  there  is  a  law  of  sin,  in  his 
members,  which  wars  against  the  law  of  his  mind — 
sometimes  bringing  him  into  captivity — and  often  in- 
ducing him  to  exclaim,  O  wretched  man  that  I  am  ! 
who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death? 
And  therefore,  in  order  to  have  an  adequate  view  of  the 
Triumphs,  after  wliich  we  are  now  inquiiing,  we  must 
cross  the  line  which  separates  time  from  eternity,  and 
look  at  the  condition  of  the  redeemed,  as  inhabitants  of 
that  place,  into  which  nothing  shall  enter  that  defileth  ; 
neither  whatsoever  worketh  abomination,  or  maketh  a 
lie.     Having  washed  their  robes,  and  made  them  white 


456  TRIUMPHS  OF  DISC.  XII. 

in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  they  have  nothing  more  to 
do  with  the  defilement  and  difficulties  of  sin :  this  cor- 
ruptible has  put  on  incorruption,  and  this  mortal  has 
put  on  immortality :  death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory  : 
all  tears  are  wiped  away  from  their  eyes  :  and,  in  view 
of  the  positive  sources  of  happiness,  to  which  they  have 
access,  we  are  authorized  to  say,  that  all  the  enjoy- 
ments of  Adam  in  Paradise,  were  not  worthy  to  be 
compared,  with  the  portion,  which  they  are  appointed 
to  receive. 

To  illustrate  the  truth  of  this  position,  I  remark,  that 
the  inhabitants  of  Heaven,  will  have  a  much  more 
extensive  view  of  the  works  of  God,  both  in  Crea- 
tion and  Providence,  than  was  enjoyed  by  Adam  in 
his  primitive  state. — I  know  it  has  been  the  opinion  of 
some,  that,  while  he  continued  in  innocence,  his  eye- 
sight was  so  acute  and  penetrating,  that  distant  objects 
were  seen  by  him,  which  are  rendered  visible  to  us, 
only  by  the  aid  of  a  magnifying  power.  In  support  of 
this  opinion,  however,  there  is  neither  the  dictate  of 
reason,  nor  the  authority  of  the  word  of  God.  It  is 
natural  to  believe,  that  the  objects  which  lay  within  the 
circumference  of  his  \asion,  were  the  same,  objects, 
which  might  be  seen  by  any  of  us,  if  we  were  placed  in 
the  same  situation  ;  such,  for  example,  as  the  trees 
and  flowers  which  surrounded  him  in  every  direction, 
— the  living  animals,  which  were  reposing  in  quietness 
and  contentment  in  the  shades  of  the  Garden,— the 
Sun,  as  he  held  his  daily  course  through  the  skies, — 


DISC.  XII.  THE  REDEMPTION.  457 

and  the  Moon  and  stars,  as  they  gilded  the  vault  of 
night,  and  enlightened  and  cheered  the  place  of  his 
abode.  But,  instead  of  having  then-  vision  thus  con- 
fined to  a  remote  corner  of  the  Universe  of  God,  the 
subjects  of  the  Redemption  arc  informed,  by  the  Great 
Prophet  himself,  that  they  "  shall  know^  hereafter"  all 
that  he  is  now  doing  and  concealing  from  their  view. 
Elevated  to  a  seat  with  the  Captain  of  salvation  upon 
his  throne,  a  scene  of  greater  wonders  will  be  unfolded, 
than  has  ever  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  in  his  pre- 
sent condition :  miUions  of  other  worlds,  which  now 
exist  and  of  which  we  have  no  knowledge,  may  pass 
in  never-ending  succession  before  their  eyes  :  new  ob- 
jects of  their  Maker's  creation  may  come  forth,  in 
countless  multitudes,  in  the  progress  of  their  eternal 
existence :  works  of  Providence,  also,  which  are  now 
unknown,  will  be  brought  to  hght :  dark  and  mysterious 
dispensations,  will  be  explained  and  justified :  and  the 
universal  agency  of  the  Father  of  lights  will  be  seen, 
diffusing  hfe  and  joy  throughout  the  boundless  extent 
of  his  holy  and  happy  creation. 

In  connexion  \\'ith  this  idea,  it  is  worthy  of  special 
remark,  that,  in  Heaven,  there  will  be  a  closer  union 

AND  MORE  INTIMATE  FELLOWSHIP  WITH  GoD  HIM- 
SELF, than  was  ever  enjoyed  amidst  the  delights  of  the 
terrestrial  Paradise.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  Adam  en- 
joyed all  the  intimacy,  which  naturally  arose  out  of  the 
moral  relation  which  he  sustained  to  GotI,  as  his  Creator 
58 


458  TRIUMPHS  OF  DISC.  XII. 

and  Preserver.  Biitj  as  this  moral  relation  will  be 
different  in  the  case  of  the  redeemed,  both  in  its  nature 
and  extent,  it  follows,  that  their  access  to  the  fullness 
of  the  Godhead,  will  be  different  also.  In  addition  to 
the  fact,  that  God  is  their  Maker  and  Upholder,  they 
are  his  peculiar  offering",  by  virtue  of  his  regenerating 
and  adopting  grace :  they  are  "joined,"  in  such  a  sense 
as  to  be  "  one  spirit,"  to  him  who  is  "  the  brightness  of 
the  Father's  glory  and  the  express  image  of  his  per- 
son :"  God  manifest  in  the  flesh  is  the  head  of  that 
body,  of  which  they  are  the  members :  He  is  the  vine 
and  they  are  the  branches :  He  is  the  elder-brother,  and 
they  are  the  joint-heirs  :  and  as  they  are  "  menabers  of 
his  body,  of  his  flesh,  and  of  his  bones,"  they  must  be 
partakers  of  that  glory  which  was  given  to  him.  "  The 
glory,"  says  Jesus,  "  which  thou  hast  given  me,  I  have 
given  them,  that  they  may  be  one,  even  as  we  are  one  : 
1  in  them,  and  thou  in  me,  that  they  may  be  made 
perfect  in  one."  Of  the  nature  of  this  mysterious 
union,  I  pretend  not  to  speak,  in  the  language  of  de- 
scription. I  lay  it  before  you,  in  the  simple  and  ex- 
pressive words  of  Him,  by  whom  it  is  promised ;  and  I 
leave  it  with  you  to  imagine,  what  an  addition  it  will 
make  to  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  hght.  It  is  a 
principle  of  universal  application,  that  union  and  com- 
munion exist  together  and  are  co-extensive.  And,  if 
so,  it  is  too  much  for  the  tongue  of  man,  or  even  the 
lips  of  an  angel,  to  tell   what  God  has  prepared  for 


DISC.  Xn.  THE  RKIJF.MPTION.  459 

those,  Avho  shall  see  him  face  to  face,  in  the  intercourse 
and  endearments  of  the  heavenly  world. 

Again  :  it  is  obvious  that  the  principle  of  contrast 
will  have  a  pecuhar  and  powerful  influence,  in  rendering 
Heaven  more  sweet  and  precious  to  the  redeemed,  than 
it  could  have  been,  if  they  had  never  had  any  experi- 
ence of  the  guilt  and  miseries  of  sin.  Who  has  not 
)ead  with  interest  the  history  of  the  prodigal  son,  as 
recorded  in  the  Gospel ;  and  observed  the  operation  of 
this  principle,  in  increasing  the  amount  of  his  happi- 
ness, after  he  returned  to  his  father's  house,  in  which 
there  was  "  bread  enough  and  to  spare  ?"  Who  does 
not  know,  that  a  haven  of  rest  is  much  more  delightful 
to  the  feelings  of  a  mariner,  who  has  been  delivered 
from  the  dangers  of  shipwreck,  than  to  the  feelings  of 
an  individual,  who  has  never  encountered  the  horrors 
of  a  storm?  Or  who  is  unac(|uainted  with  the  fact, 
that  a  pardon,  granted  to  a  malefactor  at  tbe  place  of 
execution,  is  a  thousand  times  more  welcome,  than  tbe 
continuance  of  life  to  a  person,  who  has  never  been 
condemned  to  die  ?  On  the  same  principle,  then,  the 
happiness  of  Heaven,  even  if  it  were  not  superior  in 
other  respects,  must  be  more  exquisite  to  the  redeemed, 
than  the  joys  of  the  earthly  Paradise  were  to  Adam. 
His  happiness  was  witliout  the  knowledge  of  sorrow  ; 
but  theirs  is  enjoyed,  in  tbe  remembrance  of  miseries 
endured,  and  enemies  conquered,  and  dangers  escaped. 
They  were  dead  and  are  alive  again,  they  were  lost  and 


4rt(l  TRIUMPHS  OF  DISC.  XII. 

are  found  :  tliey  have  enlered  into  tlie  haven  of  eternal 
rest,  after  being  exposed  to  a  storm,  the  horrors  of  which, 
no  imagination  can  paint,  and  no  tongue  can  describe  : 
and  they  are  exulting  in  the  possession  and  prospect  of 
a  hfe,  which  shall  never  end,  in  full  recollection  of  the 
fact,  that  once  they  were  sentenced  to  a  death,  which 
shall  never  die. 

It  should  also  be  distinctly  remembered  that  the  hap- 
piness of  the  redeemed  will  be  greatly  increased,  by  re- 
flecting upon  THE   LONG  AND  COMPLICATED  SCHEME 

OF  MERCY,  which  has  brought  them  to  its  possession. 
The  happiness  of  Adam  was  conferred  by  a  simple  act 
of  creating  goodness,  and  was,  therefore,  a  part  of  his 
original  constitution.  But  theirs  is  a  gift,  which  did  not 
belong  to  them  by  nature,  and  is  the  result  of  an  ex- 
tended plan  of  undeserved  and  sovereign  grace, — a 
plan,  in  the  execution  of  which  all  the  perfections  of 
God  are  employed, — and  which  has  given  rise  to  a  train 
of  events,  which  is  to  instruct,  and  astonish,  and  en- 
rapture all  the  holy  creation.  Allow  your  imaginations, 
for  one  moment,  to  annihilate  the  time  and  space,  by 
which  you  are  separated  from  the  company  and  em- 
ployments of  the  heavenly  world :  see  the  glorified 
company,  sitting  down  upon  the  banks  of  the  river  of 
life,  and  recounting  to  each  other  the  prominent  occur- 
rences in  the  history  of  their  salvation :  they  go  back 
to  its  origin  in  the  eternal  counsels  of  the  Sacred  Three, 
and  trace  its  gradual  developement  through  every  dis- 


DISC.  XII.  THE  REDEMPTION.  4G1 

pensation  since  the  creation  and  fall :  they  talk  of  the 
preparatory  institutions  and  events  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment oeconomy,— the  appointment  of  sacrifices, — the 
caUing  of  Abraham,  and  the  history  of  his  seed  in  the 
line  of  Isaac  and  Jacob, — the  delivery  of  the  moral 
law,  and  the  typical  ceremonies  of  the  Taliernacle  and 
Temple, — the  ministry  of  angels, — the  predictions  of 
Prophets, — and  the  frequent  appearances  of  the  angel 
of  the  Covenant,  in  the  form  of  a  man :  they,  then, 
refer  to  the  wonders,  which  have  fallen  out,  under  the 
dispensation  of  the  Gospel, — the  union  of  God  and 
man,  in  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ, — his  birth  in  a 
manger, — his  life  of  poverty  and  sorrow, — his  ignomi- 
nious and  painful  death, — his  glorious  resurrection, — 
his  triumphant  ascension, — his  intercession  at  the  right 
hand  of  God,— and  the  mission  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
with  all  the  signs  and  miracles  which  have  followed : 
and  last  of  all,  they  expatiate  upon  the  practical  opera- 
tion and  benefits  of  this  system,  as  exemplified  in  their 
own  experience,  while  in  a  course  of  preparation  for 
Heaven, — the  washing  of  regeneration,  and  the  renew- 
ing of  the  Holy  Ghost, — sanctification  through  the 
truth, — support  and  consolation  in  view  of  the  pro- 
raises, — angels  sent  forth  as  ministering  spirits, — afflic- 
tions working  out  the  peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness, 
— death  deprived  of  its  sting, — the  body  delivered  from 
the  corruption  of  the  grave, — and  the  way  thus  pre- 
pared for  the  whole  man,  to  be  perfectly  and  eternally 
happy,  in  the  presence  and  enjoyment  of  God.     At 


46;i  TRIUMPHS  OF  UISC.  xu, 

the  conclusion  of  this  detail,  theii-  immortal  voices  break 
fortli  into  a  new  song — as  the  voice  of  many  waters, 
and  as  the  voice  of  a  great  thunder — and  "  no  man 
can  learn  that  song,  but  the  hundred  and  forty  and 
four  thousand,  which  are  redeemed  from  the  earth." 

I  only  add,  that  the  happiness  of  the  glorified  sub- 
jects of  the  Redemption  will  be  un[nterruptkd  and 
ETERNAL.  How  loug  Adam  remained  in  a  state  of 
innocence,  we  are  not  informed.  But  the  result  has 
sufficiently  proved,  that  the  constitution,  under  which 
he  was  placed,  was  of  such  a  nature,  as  to  admit  the 
possibility  of  his  fall,  from  the  estate,  in  which  he  was 
created.  In  an  unguarded  and  fatal  hour,  he  approached 
the  tree,  which  he  had  been  commanded  to  avoid ;  and, 
in  consequence  of  this  transgression,  was  banished 
from  the  presence  of  his  Maker,  and  fiom  the  enjoy- 
ment of  his  favor.  But  no  such  reverse  as  this  will 
ever  occur  among  the  ransomed  inhabitants  of  Heaven. 
Their  hfe,  from  the  moment  of  their  conversion  on 
earth,  has  been  hid  with  Cluist  in  God:  instead  of 
being  committed  to  their  own  keeping,  it  is  laid  up,  as 
a  sacred  deposit,  in  the  hands  of  Him,  who  is  able  to 
save  unto  the  uttermost :  and,  because  he  lives,  they 
shall  live  also.  By  virtue  of  his  promise  and  power, 
their  kingdom,  is  an  everlasting  kingdom — their  crown, 
a  crown  that  fadeth  not  away — their  salvation,  an  eter- 
nal salvation — and  their  life,  an  everlasting  life.  No 
temptei'  will  ever  enter  their  dwelling-place,  to  seduce 
them  from  their  allegiauce  to  God  :  no  cloud  of  sorrow 


DISC.  XII.  THE  REDEMPTION.  463 

will  ever  darken  the  prospect  of  happiness,  which  lies 
before  them :  no  unexpected  and  unavoidable  calamity 
will  ever  interrupt  the  perpetuity  or  perfection  of  their 
bliss:  "there  shall  be  no  more  curse:"  "they  shall 
reign  for  ever  and  ever." 

In  confining  yoiu'  attention,  in  this  discourse,  to  the 
operations  of  grace,  in  glorifying  the  character  of  God 
and  improving  the  condition  and  happiness  of  man,  I 
have  not  intended  to  intimate,  that  these  are  the  only 
Triumphs  of  the  Redemption  over  the  Apostacy.  Be- 
sides other  fields,  for  the  display  of  these  vietories,  which 
may  be  revealed  to  us  hearafter,  the  word  of  God,  if  I 
do  not  mistake  its  meaning,  allows  us  to  believe, — that 
THE  MATERIAL  SYSTEM  ITSELF,  wMch  lias  been  the 
theatre  of  the  Apostacy,  wiU  be  delivered,  by  the  Re- 
demption, from  all  the  effects  of  the  curse,  and  restored 
to  more  than  its  pristine  beauty  and  glory.  Else,  what 
is  the  meaning  of  that  promise,  which  invites  us  to 
look  for  "  new  Heavens  and  a  new  earth,"  after  "  the 
first  Heaven,  and  the  first  earth"  are  passed  away  ? — 
and  why  are  we  informed,  that  this  promise  will  be 
fulfilled  on  "  the  day  of  God,  wherein  the  heavens, 
being  on  fire,  shall  be  dissolved,  and  the  elements  shall 
melt  with  fervent  heat  ?"  For  one,  I  love  to  stand,  in 
the  light  of  this  promise,  and  indulge  the  expectation, 
that,  as  Jerusalem  is  to  be  trodden  down  of  the  Gen- 
tiles only  until  the  times  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled,  so 
the  earth  will  remain  under  the  bondage  of  corruption 
only  until  the  time  of  the  restitution  of  all  things. 


464  TRIUMPHS  OP  DISC.  XII. 

Then  it  will  be  purified  by  fire,  and  will  appear,  in 
something  Uke  the  resurrection  state  of  the  redeemed 
themselves.  It  is  sown  in  sin,  it  will  be  raised  in  right- 
eousness :  it  is  sown  under  the  curse,  it  will  be  raised 
under  a  blessing :  it  is  sown  ill  sorrow,  it  will  be  raised 
in  joy.  Instead  of  bringing  forth  thorns  and  briars,  the 
•  trees  of  hie  will  spring  up  spontaneously  upon  its  sur- 
face, like  willows  by  the  water  courses  :  instead  of  wait- 
ing for  the  returns  of  autumn,  it  wiU  yield  its  fruit  every 
month  :  and,  instead  of  resounding  with  the  mourning 
and  lamentation  of  its  children,  the  redeemed  will  come 
to  it,  in  then-  eternal  excursions  of  pleasure,  with  songs 
and  everlasting  joy  upon  their  heads.  Yes,  my 
hearers,  for  aught  that  appears  to  the  contrary,  the 
earth,  as  thus  purified,  wUl  ever  continue  to  be  a  de- 
lightful place  of  resort  to  the  nations  of  them  that  are 
saved.  There  is  no  alssurdity  in  believmg,  that  they 
will  revisit  the  places  of  their  former  abode,  and  linger, 
with  feelings  of  unbounded  delight,  around  the  scenes 
of  theii-  former  labors  and  sufferings, — that  they  will 
walk  around  Gethsemane,  and  over  the  summit  of 
Mount  Calvary,  with  an  increasing  sense  of  their  obli- 
gation to  Him,  who  loved  them  and  gave  himself  for 
them, — and  that  theii-  united  voice  will  be  heard,  in 
every  part  of  what  is  now  the  wilderness  and  solitary 
place,  exclaiming,  "  Thou  art  worthy — for  thou  wast 
slain,  and  hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy  blood,  out  of 
every  kindred  and  tongue  and  people  and  nation  ;  and 


DISC.   XII.  THE  REDEMPTION.  465 

hast  made  us  unto  our  God  kings  and  priests  :  and  we 
shall  reign  on  the  earth." 

In  view  of  what  has  been  said,  i  remark, 
1.  That  God's  end  in  creating  the  loorld^ioas  wor- 
thy OF  HIMSELF.  If  our  first  parents  had  never  fallen, 
it  would  then  have  appeared,  that  his  only  design,  in 
forming  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  was  to  provide  a 
place  of  accommodation  for  them ;  and  in  doing  this, 
to  make  such  a  display  of  his  own  perfections,  as  these 
works  of  nature  were  calculated  to  exhibit.  But, 
having  before  our  eyes  the  recorded  Triumphs  of  the 
Redemption  over  the  Apostacy,  we  ascertain  that,  when 
he  employed  his  wisdom  and  power  in  creating  the 
world,  he  had  an  ulterior  and  more  important  object  in 
view, — that  he  v/as  erecting  a  stage,  for  other  and 
grander  exhibitions  than  appeared  in  "  the  things  which 
were  made," — that  he  was  preparing  a  nursery,  not  foi- 
a  singk  pair  of  intelligent  creatures,  who  were  destined 
to  no  higher  employment  than  cultivating  the  garden 
of  Eden,  but  for  "  a  great  multitude  Avhich  no  man 
can  number,"  who  were  to  be  trained  up  for  immortahty 
and  prepared  to  shine  as  stars  in  the  firmament  of  his 
glory  for  ever  and  ever, — that  he  was  laying  out  a  field, 
on  which  the  contest  between  himself  and  the  adver- 
sary, who  had  already  raised  tlie  standard  of  rebelhon 
in  Heaven,  was  to  issue  in  a  decisive  and  final  victory, — 
that  he  was  fitting  up  an  apartment,  which  was  to  l)e 
the  birth-place  and  the  abode  of  Him,  by  whom  the 
jarring  interests  of  his  empire  were  to  be  reconciled  and 
59 


460  TRlUiAIPIlS  OP  DISC.  XII. 

adjusted, — and  ihat  he  was  erecting  a  biiilding-,  from 
which,  tlie  highest  lessons  of  instruction,  on  the  subjects 
of  his  niauilbi(i  wisdom  and  superabounding  grace, 
were  to  be  sent  forth  to  tlie  farthest  hinits  of  the  inteUi- 
gent  universe. 

2.  Mlcomplaittts against  tite providence  of  God, in 
perniiiting  sin  to  enter  the  world,  are  as  unreasona- 
ble as  thei/  are  impious.  The  same  wisdom,  which  per- 
mitted the  A})ostacy,  has  devised  the  Redemption :  the 
same  Being,  who  declares  that  "  the  wages  of  sin  is 
death,"  announces  that  "  the  gift  of  God  is  eternal  hfe 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord :"  the  same  sentence, 
which  reports  that  "  by  one  man's  disobedience  many 
were  made  sinners,"  reiterates  the  assurance,  that,  "  by 
the  obedience  of  one  shall  many  be  made  righteous." 
It  is,  therefore,  the  fault  of  every  sinner  himself,  if  he 
remains  a  sufferer,  in  consequence  of  the  fall.  Nothing 
else  than  his  own  wilful  rejection  of  the  overtures  of 
pardonmg  mercy  and  boundless  grace,  can  prevent  him 
from  receiving  the  forgiveness  of  suis,  and  becoming  a 
joint-heir  with  Jesus  Christ,  to  an  inheritance,  as  far 
surpassing  the  first  paradise,  as  the  heavens  are  higher 
than  the  earth. 

3.  How  aggravated  'ivill  be  the  condemnation 
OF  UNBELIEVERS  !  In  lefusiug  to  avail  themselves  of 
the  blessings  of  the  Redemption,  they  are  not  only 
guilty  of  the  crime  of  self-murder,  in  the  liigliest  de- 
gree ;  inasmuch  as  they  are  rejecting  an  offer  of  deli- 
verance from  impending  ruin,  and  of  restoration  to  the 


DISC,  XH.  THE  REDEMPTION.  467 

most  exalted  happiness,  which  is  enjoyed  among  finite 
beings: — but  they  are  turning  away,  with  cold  and 
contemptuous  neglect,  from  the  capital  measure,  which 
God  has  devised,  for  revealing  himself  to  his  creatures, 
and,  thereby,  filling  the  Universe,  Avith  sources  of  un- 
bounded admiration  and  joy.  As  far  as  the  influence 
of  their  example  is  concerned,  they  are  proclaiming 
to  all  around  them,  that  there  is  nothing  in  the 
glory  of  God,  as  it  shines  in  the  face  of  Jesus 
Christ,  which  ought  to  command  their  attention 
and  sway  their  affections, — that  there  is  nothing  in 
the  love  of  the  Father,  in  sending  his  Son  to  be 
their  Saviour,  and  in  the  compassion  and  conde- 
scension of  the  Son,  in  dying  for  their  sins,  for 
which  they  ought  to  be  grateful — that  the  Heaven, 
which  God  is  offering  to  behevers,  in  the  room  of 
the  first  Paradise,  has  "no  form  or  comehness"  in 
their  estimation,  and  "  no  beauty  that  they  should  de- 
sire" it, — and  that  more  important  matters,  than  all 
these,  are  demanding  their  attention,  in  the  daily  em- 
ployments, in  which  they  are  engaged — in  the  "  farms," 
which  they  are  cultivating — in  the  "  merchandise," 
in  which  they  are  dealing — or,  in  the  civil  and  social 
duties,  which  they  are  required  to  perform.  On  this 
account,  they  are  adjudged  to  be  guilty  of  the  highest 
and  most  daring  of  all  the  acts  of  rebellion,  w^hich 
have  ever  been  conmiitted,  against  the  "  King  of 
kings  and  Lord  of  lords ;"-- and,  in  proportion  to  the 
magnitude  of  their  crime,  will  be  the  measure  of  their 


468  TRIUMPHS  OF  disc.  XII. 

punishment.  '•  It  shall  l)e  more  tolerable  for  Sodoni 
and  Gomorrah,  in  the  day  of  judgment,  than  for 
them."  And  il"  so,  who  can  dwell,  with  that  "  devour- 
ing fire,"  which  is  prepared  for  them,  in  the  world  to 
come ! — and  how  impressive  the  language,  which  is 
addressed  to  them,  by  the  spirit  of  the  Prophets,"  "  Kiss 
the  Son,  lest  he  be  angry,  and  ye  perish  from  the  way, 
when  his  wrath  is  kindled  but  a  little !"  "  Behold, 
ye  despisers,  and  wonder  and  perish :  for  I  work  a 
work  in  your  days,  a  work  which  ye  shall  in  no  wise 
believe,  though  a  man  declare  it  unto  you  !" 

4.  Let  all  the  upright  on  earth  and  in  Heaven., 
"  sing  imto  the  Lord  a  new  song  ;  for  he  hath  done 
MARVELLOUS  THINGS  :  Ms  right  hand  and  his  holy 
arm  have  gotten  him  the  victory."  Great  events, 
and  especially  important  triumphs,  have  usually  been 
attended  with  public  rejoicings.  When  the  system  of 
creation  came  forth,  in  its  primitive  beauty  and  glory, 
"  the  morning  stars  sang  together  and  all  the  sons  of 
God  shouted  for  joy ;" — when  David  returned  from  the 
slaughter  of  the  Philistines,  the  women  came  out  of  all 
the  cities  of  Israel,  with  singing  and  dancing  and  in- 
struments of  music,  answering  each  other,  as  they 
played,  "  Saul  hath  slain  his  thousands  and  David  his 
ten  thousands ;" — when  "  the  First-begotten"  was 
brought  into  the  world,  the  command  was  given, 
"  Let  all  the  angels  of  God  worship  him,"  and,  in  obe- 
dience to  this  command,  a  multitude  of  the  heavenly 


DISC.  XII.  THE  REDEMPTION.  4G9 

host  were  heard,  exclamiiug  over  the  manger  at  Beth- 
lehem, "  Glory  to  God  ia  the  highest,  on  earth  peace, 
and  good-will  to  men  :" — and,  when  the  victories  of  the 
Gospel,  over  the  pohcy  and  power  of  Antichrist,  shall 
be  complete,  a  loud  voice  will  be  heard,  in  the  midst  of 
Heaven,  saying,  "  Fear  God,  and  give  glory  to  him  ; 
for  the  hour  of  his  judgment  is  come — Babylon  is 
fallen  !  is  fallen  !"  Great  events,  and  glorious  t  riumphs, 
have  been  occupying  our  attention,  in  the  preceding 
discourse.  We  have  been  surveying  the  victories  of 
redeeming  love,  from  their  commencement  in  eternity 
to  their  consummation  in  the  fullness  of  tune ;— and, 
therefore,  in  retiring  from  the  sanctuary  of  God  to 
night,  it  eminently  becomes  us  to  say,  while  we  en- 
deavour to  catch  the  spuit  of  the  exclamation,  "  Blessed 
be  the  Lord  God,  the  God  of  Israel,  who  only  doeth 
wondrous  things.  And  blessed  be  his  glorious  name 
for  ever:  and  let  the  whole  earth  be  filled  with  his 
glory ;    Amen  and  Amen. 


DISCOURSE  XIII. 


«0D  EXALTED  AND   CREATURES   HUMBLED  BY  THE  GOSPEL. 


That,  according  aa  it  is  writleu,  He  tliat  glorietii, let  liini  glory  in  the  Lord. — 
1  Cor.  i.  3L 


That  part  of  the  ar^ment  in  support  of  divine 
revelation  which  is  assigned  to  me,  is  drawn  from 
"  The  effect  of  the  Gospel  in  exalting  the  Creator  and 
in  humbling  the  creature:"  not  in  degrading  the 
creature  ]■ — in  abasing  the  pride  of  man,  in  bringmg 
sinners  to  repentance  and  self-condemnation  and  a 
willingness  to  be  saved  by  free  grace,  and  in  laying  the 
whole  holy  creation  in  sweet  humility  at  the  feet  of  a 
discovered  God. 

I  have  nothing  to  do  with  those  unhappy  men,  if 
such  there  are, — those  moral  monsters, — who  deny  the 
being  of  a  God.  And  if  there  is  a  God,  we  must  sup- 
pose him  connected  with  the  visible  universe  as  its 
author  and  upholder,  and  not,  like  the  supreme  god  of 


472  GOD  EXALTED,  DISC.  XIII. 

the  Brahmins,  iii  a  state  of  eternal  repose  and  indiffer- 
ence ;  for  in  no  other  way  are  we  led  to  the  beUef  of 
his  existence  but  by  arguing  from  effects  to  their  cause. 
If  the  things  which  we  see  are  not  the  productions  of 
his  power,  we  have  no  proof  of  his  existence.  If  there 
is  a  God,  we  must  suppose  him  wise  and  just  and 
good ;  for  every  denier  of  revelation  who  is  not  an 
atheist  or  a  semi- atheist,  holds  that  this  is  evident  from 
his  works  and  from  reason.  If  there  is  a  God  thus 
wise  and  good,  who  has  given  being  to  a  rational  off- 
spring, and  fitted  up  a  world  for  their  habitation,  and 
makes  all  nature  contribute  to  their  support  and  com- 
fort,  we  must  suppose  him  to  have  an  interest  in  their 
happiness.  If  he  has  an  interest  in  their  happiness, 
and  is  himself  wise  and  holy,  we  must  suppose  that  he 
would  seek  to  found  theii-  happiness  upon  holy  order, 
— the  exercise  of  benevolence  and  justice ;  for  without 
this  foundation  no  social  happiness  can  exist.  If  he 
is  their  Creator,  and  so  their  Proprietor,  with  a  right  of 
comse  to  control  them,  and  if  he  wishes  to  found  their 
happiness  upon  holy  order,  we  must  conclude  that  he 
would  put  them  under  law.  And  if  they  aie  under 
law,  that  law  must  be  enforced  by  penalties  ;  for  with- 
out a  penalty  it  is  no  law,  but  mere  advice.  And  if 
they  arc  to  obey,  they  must  be  uafluenced  by  motives 
drawn  from  the  character  of  the  Lawgiver  and  from 
their  relations  to  him.  And  if  they  are  to  be  mfluenced 
by  such  motives,  it  is  of  infinite  importance  that  he 
should  be  manifested  to  them  in  all  tiis  relations  and  in 


DISC.  XIII.  CREATURES  HUMBLED.  473 

all  the  glories  of  his  character.  If  he  seeks  their  high- 
est happiness,  he  will  M  the  universe  with  the  know 
ledge  of  his  perfections  ;  for  these  constitute  the  highest 
objective  ground  of  creature  happiness  ;  and  a  sight  of 
them  assures  creatures  that  the  universe  is  safe,  that  all 
things  will  issue  well,  and  leads  them  to  that  coni- 
munion  with  the  Eternal  Mind  in  which  their  highest 
blessedness  consists.  As  then  God  loves  righteousness, 
— as  he  wishes  to  enforce  a  holy  and  benignant  moral 
government, — as  he  regards  the  happiness  of  his  crea- 
tures, he  must  seek  to  fill  the  universe  with  the  mani- 
festations of  his  glory,  and  thus  exalt  himself  and  sink 
them  into  reverence  and  adoration. 

That  men  are  sinners  I  shall  assume.  Every  page 
of  history,  every  glance  of  the  eye,  every  report  of  an 
enUghtened  conscience  attests  it.  If  then  there  is  any 
salvation  for  them,  it  must  be  by  grace,  that  is,  by  favoui- 
to  the  iU-deserving.  And  such  a  salvation  cannot  fail 
to  exalt  God  and  huml^le  the  sinner. 

None  will  deny  that  the  world  are  proud.  But  lest 
some  should  shelter  a  favourite  principle  under  this 
name,  I  will  define  the  thing  proscribed.  Pride  is  the 
selfish  erection  of  our  own  will,  our  own  wisdom,  our 
own  honour,  our  own  power,  our  own  importance, 
against  the  rights  of  God  and  his  creatures.  This  has 
done  more  than  any  other  thing  to  arm  tlie  world 
against  its  Maker.  "  Only  by  pride  cometh  contention.*' 
It  has  been  the  cause  of  more  than  half  the  strife  that 
has  agitated  the  imiverse.  A  salvation  then  from  sin 
60 


474  GOD  EXALTED,  DISC.  XIII. 

must  put  down  pride.  A  salvation  sent  to  struggle 
ajjainst  the  pride  of  a  world,  must  meet  its  vital  throb 
and  l)reak  its  heart  liy  overwhelming  it  with  shame  and 
everlasting  contempt. 

In  any  system  of  salvation  then  which  should  come 
from  heaven,  it  might  bo  expected  that  its  main  ten- 
dency would  be  to  confound  the  pride  of  man,  to  hum- 
ble sinners,  and  to  glorify  God.  If  you  can  find  a  sys- 
tem professing  to  come  from  God,  which  puts  honour 
upon  him  by  bringing  out  his  perfections  to  view, — by 
supporting  his  rights,  his  claims,  his  government ; 
which  abases  pride,  and  brings  sinners  to  a  spirit  the 
most  self-condemning,  the  most  ready  to  justify  God, 
full  of  adoring  views  of  his  free  grace  and  their  eternal 
and  infinite  indebtedness  ;  you  have  found  a  system 
which  accords  with  the  truth  of  things,  which  is  friendly 
to  the  interests  of  the  universe,  and  must  have  ema- 
nated, not  from  an  impudent  imposture,  but  from  the 
eternal  source  of  truth  and  love. 

The  tendency  of  the  Gospel  to  exalt  God  and  hum- 
ble the  creature,  appears, 

I.  in  its  outward  administration  ; 

II.  In  its  texture  ; 

III.  In  its  application. 

I.  In  its  outward  administration.      This  includes, 

(1.)  The  humble  appearance  of  Christ  in  our  world : 

born  of  an  obscure  parent, — born  in  a  manger, — brought 

up  at  the  trade  of  a  carpenter,— in  his  public  ministry 

not  having  where  to  lay  his  head,— supported  by  the 


DISC.  XIII.  CREATURES  HUMBLED.  475 

charity  of  his  female  followers, — in  his  highest  triumph 
riding  into  his  royal  city  on  "  the  foal  of  an  assj"— 
sorting  with  fishermen,  —  "despised  and  rejected  of 
men," — arraigned  before  Pilate, — beaten  and  spit  upon 
in  the  Pretorium, — condemned  to  the  death  of  a 
Roman  slave, — and  crucified  between  two  malefactors. 

All  this  belonged  indeed  to  his  atonement,  but  it  an- 
swered other  ends.  It  stained  the  "pride"  of  human 
"  glory,"  and  taught  his  disciples  to  contemn  it,  and  to 
say,  "  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory  save  in  the  cross 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  the  world  is  crucified 
vinto  me  and  I  unto  the  world."  It  taught  them  hu- 
mility and  self-denial,  by  throwing  upon  them  the 
influence  of  an  humble  and  self-denying  rehgion,  of 
which  "the  cross  of  Christ"  is  every  where  put  for  the 
armorial  ensign.  It  attacked  the  pride  of  man  in  its 
most  sensible  part,  and  with  the  penetrating  weapon  of 
a  Uving  example  of  humility.  It  "  made  foolish  the 
wisdom  of  this  world." 

When  we  understand  the  reasons  of  this  humble 
appearance  of  Christ,  we  see  in  it  the  wisdom  of  God ; 
but  had  it  been  left  to  us  beforehand,  we  should  have 
assigned  him  the  most  magnificent  state.  Thus  did 
the  wisdom  <.)f  man  pronounce.  The  Jews  expected 
their  Messiah  to  appear  as  a  miglity  conqueror,  to 
break  their  Romnii  yoke  and  raise  them  to  the  do- 
minion of  the  world .  But  God  confounded  the  wisdom 
of  men.  And  why  was  this  deemed  a  good  l  Because 
men  vainly  conceited  that  they  could  discover  every 


476  CiOD  KXALTEDj  UISC.  XIII. 

thing  relating  to  God  and  duty  and  a  future  state, 
and  were  too  proud  to  learn  of  him,  and  arrayed 
their  wisdom  against  the  rehgion  of  heaven.  The 
Jewish  rabbins  and  Grecian  philosophers  did  this. 
Such  an  exhibition  of  weakness  in  one  who  claimed 
divine  honours  and  came  to  found  a  new  religion,  was 
to  "the  Jews  a  stumbUng  block"  and  to  "the  Greeks 
foolishness."  Modern  infidels  and  Socinians  do  this. 
They  will  march  light  over  any  doctrine  which  their 
boasted  wisdom  condemns,  whatever  the  word  of  God 
may  say.  Indeed  the  pride  of  man,  showing  itself  in 
lofty  pretensions  to  the  omniscience  of  wisdom,  was 
seen  to  be  the  most  intrepid  and  unyielding  enemy 
which  the  religion  of  heaven  had  to  encounter.  It 
therefore  was  a  main  point  in  the  outset  to  overwhelm 
this  enemy  with  convictions  of  his  own  ignorance  and 
folly  and  of  the  far  superior  wisdom  of  God. 

In  all  these  proud  {)ietensions  reason  aspires  to  a 
place  for  which  it  was  never  designed.  It  is  not  its 
province  to  penetrate  the  mysteries  of  the  universe  by 
its  own  ken,  but  to  work  up  into  judgments  materials 
furnished  by  information.  It  is  the  eye,  but  it  cannot 
see  without  light.  Its  business  is  not  to  discover  intui- 
tively the  secrets  of  the  divine  mind,  but  to  examine 
the  furnished  proofs  of  the  being  and  perfections  of 
God  and  of  the  plenary  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures  ; 
and  having  digested  these,  to  study  the  contents  of  the 
Bible,  and  to  believe  unhesitatingly  what  is  there  re- 
vealed.    How  can  reason  discover  the  unrevealed  mind 


DISC.  XIII.  CREATURES  HUMBLED.  477 

of  God  ?  It  must  be  omniscient  or  inspired  to  discover 
the  unexpressed  mind  of  a  creature.  But  this  it  nevei- 
pretends  to  do.  The  only  mind  in  the  universe  which 
it  dares  to  subject  to  its  ordeal,  is  the  Infinite  Mind.  Now 
between  us  and  God  there  is  infinitely  more  distance 
than  between  your  child  and  the  Emperor  of  China. 
Put  that  child  then  to  tell,  without  any  information, 
what  are  the  character  and  thoughts  and  purposes  of 
the  Emperor  of  China ;  and  how  would  he  succeed  ? 
But  you  say,  God  has  revealed  himself  in  his  works. 
Allow  that  he  has  in  part,  yet  nothing  there  shows  the 
manner  of  his  existing,  the  details  of  his  law,  with 
what  severity  he  will  punish,  whether  or  on  what 
conditions  he  will  pardon,  what  are  his  decrees  respect- 
ing the  formation  of  the  human  character,  and  many 
other  things.  If  reason  can  discover  these,  it  not  onl)'^ 
is  the  eye,  but  forms  the  hght  itself.  Supposing  your 
child  had  evidence  that  the  Emperor  of  China  is  wise 
and  good,  how  could  he  know,  without  information,  a 
thousand  of  his  personal  matters,  the  laws  of  his  em- 
pire, with  what  severity  he  will  punish,  whether  or  on 
what  conditions  he  will  pardon,  and  a  million  of  things 
respecting  the  regulation  of  trade,  the  mternal  police, 
and  the  comphcated  interests  of  a  vast  empire  ?  But 
no  kingdom  does  reason  presume  to  scan  by  its  own 
light,  but  that  which  comprehends  all  worlds.  In  no 
other  science  but  that  which  relates  to  the  incompre- 
hensible God  and  to  the  interests  and  government  of 
the  universe,  does  it  attempt  to  build  on  its  own  inde- 


478  GOD  EXALTKD,  DISC.  XIII. 

pendent  discoveries.  The  anatomist  does  not  presume 
to  tell  you  how  a  man  ought  to  be  made,  but  with  all 
submission  proceeds  to  examine  the  animal  system 
which  God  has  exposed  to  his  view.  In  all  the  natural 
sciences  reason  can  make  discoveries,  but  how  ?  merely 
by  examining  the  facts  which  God  has  spread  out  l)e- 
fore  it,  and  from  them  inferring  a  more  general  fact  or 
law,  and  then  arguing  from  that  law  to  explain  other 
phenomena  not  susceptible  of  examination.  Here  are 
the  analysis  and  synthesis  of  the  Newtonian  school, 
the  only  organs  of  discovery  known  to  philosophy. 

And  why  does  man  act  so  differently  in  this  case 
from  what  he  does  in  all  others  ?  Because  in  other 
sciences  he  wishes  to  obtain  accurate  knowledge ;  in 
this,  relief  to  his  conscience  and  fears  and  mortified 
pride.  He  does  not  like  God,  and  wishes  to  modify 
him  after  his  own  taste,  and  insists  on  doing  this,  and 
is  self-sufficient  enough  to  think  that  he  can  do  it 
without  mistake,  and  will  by  no  means  consent  to  owe 
allegiance  to  a  God  that  is  not  after  his  own  mind. 
Thus  the  heathen,  because  "  they  did  not  like  to  retain 
God  in  their  knowledge,"  changed  his  glory  "  into  an 
image  made  hke  to  corruptible  man."  The  process  in 
both  cases  is  alike,  and  the  motive  is  exactly  the  same. 

(2.)  Another  way  in  which  the  outward  administra- 
tion of  the  Gospel  took  the  pride  of  the  world,  was  in 
the  weakness  of  the  instruments  employed,  the  simpli- 
city of  their  preaching,  and  their  triumphant  success. 
Instead  of  angels  or  Jewish  doctors  or  Grecian  philo- 


DISC.  XIII.  CREATURES  HUMBLED.  479 

sophers,  Chiist  chose  fishermen  and  pubUcans  and 
tent-makers  to  breast  an  embattled  world, — the  bigotry 
of  priests,  the  pride  of  philosophers,  the  interest  of 
shrine-makers,  tlie  policy  of  kings,  and  the  impetuous 
current  of  the  carnal  heart.  And  as  temples  fell  and 
churches  rose  before  them,  he  selected  the  materials  of 
the  church  and  of  the  ministry,  not  from  the  "wise" 
and  "mighty"  and  "noble,"  but  from  the  "foohsh," 
the  "  weak,"  the  "  base,"  the  "  despised,"  "to  confound" 
and  "  bring  to  nought"  the  noble,  wise,  and  mighty ; 
"  that  no  flesh  should  glory  in  his  presence ;"  that  none 
might  saj'',  I  was  selected  because  I  was  great  or  wise, — 
thus  exalting  worldly  distinctions  and  hiding  the  free 
grace  of  God ;  that  none  might  say.  My  own  hand 
hath  done  it ;  "  that  the  excellency  of  the  power " 
might  "be  of  God  and  not  of"  man;  that  the  super- 
natural power  of  God  might  appear  and  attest  the 
truth  of  the  Gospel ;  and  that  his  sovereignty  might 
be  shown  in  the  distributions  of  his  grace.  For  reasons 
such  as  these,  Jesus  himself  "  rejoiced  in  spirit  and  said, 
I  thank  thee,  O  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth, 
that  thou  hast  hid  these  things  from  the  wise  and  pru- 
dent and  hast  revealed  them  unto  babes :  even  so, 
Father,  for  so  it  seemed  good  in  thy  sight." 

In  the  opening  of  the  first  Epistle  to  the  church  in 
Corinth,  (a  proud  city  in  the  heart  of  Greece,)  the  apos- 
tle had  occasion  to  touch  on  most  of  these  points.  He 
tells  them  that  Christ  sent  him  "  to  preach  the  Gospel, 
not  with  the  wisdom  of  words,  lest  the  cross  of  Christ 


480  GOD  EXALTED,  DISC.  XIII. 

should  be  made  of  none  effect."  To  have  come  to 
them  with  the  flourish  of  oratory  or  the  accuracies  of 
philosophical  language,  (by  which  some  of  the  heads  of 
the  faction  opposed  to  the  apostle  in  that  church  are 
thought  to  have  l^een  distinguished ;)  or  to  have  come 
with  independent  reasonings  after  the  manner  of  phi- 
losophy ;  would  have  lowered  down  the  authority  of 
the  Gospel,  and  dimmed  its  evidence  by  casting  some 
of  the  praise  of  its  success  on  the  manner.  It  would 
have  been  less  adapted  to  the  multitude,  and  indeed  to 
the  humble,  whose  faith  was  to  rest,  not  on  the  wisdom 
of  men,  but  on  the  word  of  God.  This  "preaching  of 
the  cross,"  in  manner  as  well  as  in  matter,  was  foolish- 
ness to  the  proud  rabbins  and  philosophers  ;  but  it 
proved  the  power  and  wisdom  of  God  in  accomplishing 
that  reformation  and  salvation  which  neither  Judaism 
nor  philosophy  ever  achieved.  Standing  on  the  pinna- 
cle of  success,  with  half  the  known  world  at  his  feet, 
the  apostle  sublimely  challenged  all  Jewry  and  Greece 
to  show  what  they  had  done.  "Where  is  the  wise? 
where  is  the  scribe?  where  is  the  disputer  of  this  world  ? 
Hath  not  God  made  foolish  the  wisdom  of  this  world  ? 
For  after  that,  in  the  wisdom  of  God,  the  world, by  wis- 
dom knew  not  God,  it  pleased  God  by  the  foolishness 
of  preaching  to  save  them  that  believe."  This  was 
suificiently  humbling  to  the  pride  of  Pharisees  and 
the  opinionated  wisdom  of  Greece,  and  covered  with 
disgrace  those  overweening  systems  which  hid  from  the 
world  the  true  knowledge  of  God. 


DISC.  Xlll.  CHEATURliS   HUMBLED.  481 

Thus  the  outward  adniinistiatioji  ol'  the  Gospel  re- 
buked the  self-sufficiency  of  human  reason  and  the  ar- 
rogant calcidations  of  human  power,  by  showing  the 
world  that  "the  foolishness  of  God  is  wiser  than 
men,  and  the  weakness  of  God  is  stronger  than  men  ;" 
and  by  thundering  in  the  ears  of  audacious  pride,  "  If 
any  man— seemeth  to  be  wise  in  this  world,  let  him 
become  a  fool  that  he  may  be  wise." 

II.  The  same  tendency  appears  in  the  texture  of  the 
Gospel.  This  is  noticed  in  our  text  and  the  preceding 
verse.  "  But  of  him  are  ye  in  Christ  Jesus,  who  of 
God  is  made  unto  us  wisdom  and  righteousness  and 
sanctification  and  redemption  ;  that,  according  as  it  is 
written,  He  that  glorieth  let  him  glory  in  the  Lord." 

(1.)  Our  wisdom.  Instead  of  ignorant  and  preju- 
diced reason,  on  which  the  wise  men  of  the  world 
proudly  rested  for  the  discovery  of  God,  Christ,  the 
great  Prophet  of  the  world,  was  appointed  to  lay  open 
the  secrets  of  the  Eternal  Mind  and  to  bring  "  hfe  and 
immortality  to  light ;"  and  instead  of  arraying  their 
wisdom  against  the  revelation  of  God,  believers  love 
to  put  themselves  to  school  to  Christ  as  little  children, 
and  to  "learn"  of  him  who  is  "meek  and  lowly  in 
heart."  Seneca,  one  of  the  best  of  the  philosophers, 
and  the  tutor  and  victim  of  Nero,  hved  in  Rome  while 
Paul  was  there ;  but  they  belonged  to  two  different 
worlds. 

"  No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time ;  the  only  be- 
gotten Son,  which  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  he 
61 


482  GOD  EXALTED,  DISC.  XIII. 

liatli  tieciaied  liim."  "No  man  knoweth— who  the 
father  is  but  the  Son  and  he  to  whom  the  Son  will 
reveal  him."'  Christ  is  called  "  the  Word,"  because  it 
is  by  him  that  God  expresses  all  his  mind.  It  was  he 
that  built  the  universe,  "  and  without  him  was  not  any 
thing  made  that  was  made."  It  was  he  that  governed 
the  world  from  the  beginning,  and  the  providence  of 
God  is  the  providence  of  the  Mediatorial  King.  He 
gave  the  law  at  Sinai.  He  sent  out  his  Spirit  to  indite 
the  Old  Testament  and  the  New,  and  to  illumine  by 
his  influence  the  minds  of  men.  By  his  incarnation, 
Ufe,  muiistry,  and  mediatorial  work,  he  has  thrown 
God  upon  every  eye.  He  came  out  to  be  thus,  "  the 
image  of  the  invisible  God ;"  and  the  only  God  known 
to  our  world  is  the  God  that  shines  "  in  the  face  of 
Jesus  Christ."  He  imparts  all  the  practical  wisdom 
which  his  people  possess. 

Tlius  the  Gospel  admits  none  of  the  powers  of  dis- 
covery so  proudly  claimed  by  ancient  and  modern  magi, 
but  brings  the  whole  world,  like  Mary,  to  sit  at  the  feet 
of  Jesus  and  hear  his  words. 

(2.)  Our  righteousness.  Under  the  first  covenant 
justification  was  the  judicial  act  of  pronouncing  one 
just ;  and  the  ground  of  it  was  a  perfect  personal  hoU- 
ness  or  righteousness.  The  terms  justification  and 
righteousness  arc  transferred  to  things  under  the  new 
covenant  very  unlike  the  other,  but  bearing  some  ana- 
logy to  them.  Justification  now  means  the  treating 
of  a  sinner  as  just,  by  his  pardon  and  acceptance  to 


DISC.  XII 1,  CREATURES  HUMBLED.  483 

eternal  life;    and  that  which  is  the  ground  of  this 
gracious  justification  is  called  his  righteousness. 

There  is  nothing  to  which  men  more  strongly  adhere 
than  to  the  claims  of  their  own  merit.  They  even  ex- 
pect wages  from  God  for  services  rendered,  and  say 
with  Bellarmin,  "  Give  unto  us,  O  Lord,  for  we  have 
given  unto  thee."  This  self-righteousness  is  at  war 
with  truth  and  justice,  and  must  l)e  put  down  hefore  the 
sinner  will  consent  to  receive,  or  God  can  consistently 
bestow,  salvation  by  grace.  The  Avhole  texture  of  the 
Gospel  is  fitted  to  put  down  this  arrogant  pretender,  to 
annihilate  the  last  lurking  pride  of  man,  to  cover  sin 
wath  eternal  disgrace,  to  vindicate  the  rights  and  claims 
of  God,  to  sustain  his  empire  over  a  subject  universe, 
and  to  manifest  all  his  glory  in  the  highest  conceivable 
degree. 

To  accomplish  these  ends,  God  took  the  ground  thai 
he  would  not  pardon  a  single  smner  till  Christ  had 
died  in  his  stead ;  that  he  would  not  deal  out  to  one  of 
Adam's  race,  either  a  crown  of  glory  or  a  cup  of  water, 
but  as  the  reward  of  the  perfect  obedience  of  his  Son  ; 
and  that  he  would  deliver  neither  the  pardon  nor  the 
positive  good  but  to  the  intercession  of  the  Mediator. 
Howthese  resolutions  supported  the  law  and  condemned 
sin  and  abased  pride,  I  am  now  to  show. 

[1.]  The  atonement.  "Think  not,"  said  Christ, 
''  that  I  am  come  to  destroy  the  law  or  the  prophets  ;  I 
am  not  come  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil.  For  verily  I  say 
unto  you,  till  heaven  and  earth  pass,  one  jot  oi-  one 


4H4  OOU   KXAT.TED,  DISC.  XIH. 

tittle  shall  iu  no  wise  pass  from  the  law  till  all  be  ful- 
filled." The  prophet  had  said,  '•  He  will  magnify  the 
law  and  make  it  honouiable." 

Christ  died  in  our  stead  to  answer,  so  far  as  the  law 
is  concerned,  the  very  end  of  our  punishment.  What 
is  the  end  of  punishment  as  the  law  is  concerned  ?  To 
go  back  a  step  further,  why  is  a  penalty  annexed  to  a 
law  ?  It  is  to  make  it  law  rather  than  advice.  With- 
out a  penalty  it  would  have  no  commanding  authority. 
The  empire  of  the  law  against  murder  rests  on  the  as- 
surance which  all  draw  from  the  penalty,  that  if  they 
murder  they  shall  die.  And  why  is  the  penalty  exe- 
cuted ?  For  the  same  reason  for  which  it  was  annexed ; 
for  if  not  executed  it  is  nothing.  Why  is  that  mur- 
derer executed  ?  to  give  empire  to  the  law  by  convincing 
all  that  if  they  mmder  they  shall  die.  Supposing  one 
has  murdered  and  his  brother  offers  to  die  in  his  stead, 
and  docs  die  by  the  direction  of  the  king ;  are  not  the 
spectators  as  much  convinced  that  if  they  murder  they 
shall  die,  as  though  the  criminal  himself  had  suffered  ? 
To  dispense  pardon  to  all  reformed  murderers  from 
generation  to  generation,  and  to  offer  it  beforehand  on 
that  condition  to  all  the  miuderers  of  a  world,  without 
exacting  any  equivalent  for  their  punishment,  would 
annihilate  the  law  against  murder.  If  we  were  to  be 
pardoned,  it  was  necessary  that  some  other  measure,  as 
expressive  as  our  punishment,  should  be  taken  to  con- 
\nnce  the  universe  that  God  was  determined  to  support 
his  law  by  executing  its  penalty  on  future  transgressors. 


DISC.  Xin.  CREATURES   HUMBLED.  485 

The  execution  of  his  beloved  Son  expressly  in  our 
stead,  by  a  stroke  laid  on  by  the  Lawgiver,  because  by 
the  Lawgiver  he  was  commanded  to  receive  it,  made 
this  impression  as  strongly  as  it  could  have  been  made 
by  the  eternal  perdition  of  all  Adam's  race.  And  this 
solemn  declaration,  that  sin  should  not  go  unpunished, 
loudly  "condemned  sin  in  the  flesh." 

[2.]  The  obedience  of  Christ.  The  original  principle 
on  which  God  set  out  in  his  government  over  this 
world,  was  not  to  issue  a  single  positive  good,  after  man 
was  set  out  in  existence,  but  as  the  reward  of  a  perfect 
obedience ;  for  all  was  forfeited  by  a  single  transgression. 
It  would  put  more  abundant  honom-  on  the  law  to  pre- 
serve this  principle  under  the  dispensation  of  grace. 
Accordingly  arrangements  were  made  for  Christ  to  be 
placed  under  law,  and  perfectly  to  obey  it,  and  in  reward 
of  his  obedience  to  receive  all  the  positive  blessings  in- 
tended for  the  human  race  in  both  worlds,  including  aU 
that  was  necessary  for  a  state  of  probation.  So  the 
man  who  laboms  in  your  field,  is  content  to  receive  liis 
wages  in  garments  for  his  children,  which  he  could  by 
no  means  wear  himself.  To  all  these  blessings,  as 
soon  as  he  had  fulfilled  his  obedience,  he  had  a  covenant 
right,  and  took  them  out  of  the  hands  of  pure  God- 
head, and  held  them  by  a  mediatorial  claun ;  and 
these,  together  with  the  Church  itself,  and  I  may  add, 
the  universe,  constitute  the  inheritance  of  the  "  Heir  of 
all  things."  Every  morsel  of  food  which  we  receive 
belongs    to  the  mediatorial  estate,  and  comes  to  us 


486  t'OD  EXALTED,  DISC.  XIII. 

because  first,  given  to  hiin ;  and  it  ought  to  be  the 
sweeter  to  us  on  that  account.  Not  a  shower  descends 
upon  the  fields, — not  a  stalk  of  barley  waves  in  the 
harvest,  but  sends  forth  a  voice,  "  Not  for  your  sakes  do 
I  this,  saith  the  Lord  God,  be  it  known  unto  you :  be 
ashamed  and  confounded  for  your  own  ways."  A  title 
to  heaven  and  all  the  privileges  of  sonship  come  in  this 
way.  The  '-'First-born"  inherits  the  whole  estate  by 
his  own  right,  and  we  come  in  under  him  as  "joint- 
heirs."  Because  he  lives  we  live  also.  He  arose  and 
ascended  by  his  own  right ;  but  he  came  out  of  the 
grave  as  the  head  drawing  the  members  after  him,  and 
has  gone  to  prepare  a  place  for  us. 

This  is  the  great  doctrine  of  justification  by  gi-ace, 
which  makes  so  conspicuous  a  figure  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament, and  is  so  abasing  to  the  pride  of  man. 

[3.]  The  intercession  of  Christ.  As  the  high  priest 
entered  once  a  year  into  the  holy  place  with  "  the  blood 
of  goats  and  calves,"  and  with  the  names  of  the  twelve 
tribes  upon  his  heart,  to  intercede  for  them  before  the 
Lord ;  so  Christ,  "  by  his  own  blood,"  has  entered 
"  into  heaven  itself,"  there  "  to  appear  in  the  presence 
of  God  for  us."  There  "  he  ever  hveth  to  make  inter- 
cession "  for  us :  that  is,  his  desues,  and  the  silent  influ- 
ences of  his  atonement  and  obedience,  (the  latter  in- 
volving his  covenant  claims,)  continually  rise  up  before 
the  throne.  This  is  only  carrying  out  the  same  respect 
for  the  law  so  conspicuous  in  the  two  preceding  mea- 
sures. 


DISC.  XIII.  CREATURES  HUMBLED.  487 

But  the  soul-humbling  and  God-exalting  process  is 
not  yet  ended.  Not  only  are  the  atonement,  obedience, 
and  intercession  of  Christ  thus  provided,  in  a  way  to 
support  the  rights  and  claims  and  government  of  God, 
to  condemn  sin,  and  cover  pride  with  eternal  confu- 
sion ;  but  no  man  is  allowed  to  share  in  this  salvation 
until,  from  the  bottom  of  his  heart,  he  has  approved  of 
all  these  measures  and  all  their  expressions  ;  until  he 
has  taken  back  all  his  proud  speeches  against  God  and 
bent  his  imperious  head  to  his  Maker's  feet,  and  owned 
that  he  never  had  any  cause  to  rise  up  so  loftily  against 
his  Creator ;  until,  with  his  face  in  the  dust,  he  has 
justified  God  in  condemning  him  to  eternal  infamy,  and 
has  heartily  approved  of  the  whole  character  and  go- 
vernment of  him  whom  he  has  always  called  a  tjnrant; 
until  he  feels  that  the  air  is  too  good  for  him  to  breathe, 
and  the  dust  is  too  good  for  him  to  wrap  himself  in, 
and  that  he  deserves  nothing  but  everlasting  shame 
and  contempt ;  until  he  is  willing  to  come  down  on 
his  knees  as  a  beggar  and  ask  for  a  crumb  to  keep  him 
from  starving,  and  to  be  saved  by  free  grace  and  for 
the  righteousness  of  another ;  until  he  feels  it  sweet  to 
be  thus  abased,  and  covets  it  more  than  he  does  the 
throne  of  an  arch-angel ;  until  he  exalts  God  above 
every  other  object  and  gives  him  all  the  glory  of  his 
salvation. 

Even  pardon  itself  buries  the  sinner  still  lower  in 
the  dust.  "  That  thou  mayst  remember  and  be  con- 
founded and  never  open  thy  mouth  any  more  because 


489  GOD  EXALTED,  DISC.  XI 11. 

ol"  thy  slianie,  when  I  aiii  pacified  towards  thee  for  all 
that  thou  hast  done,  saith  the  Lord  God." 

This  is  none  of  that  poverty  of  spirit  which  involves 
degradation.  It  is  only  viewing  things  according  to 
truth.  Holiness  cannot  fail  to  feel  thus  in  a  creature 
that  has  sinned.  If  holiness  is  dignity,  this  abasement 
of  a  soul  that  has  bcini  found  in  arms  against  infinite 
goodness  and  dying  love,  outtops  the  dignity  of  kings. 

The  pardon  and  acceptance  connected  with  this  tem- 
per, are  that  justification  by  faith  which  holds  so  high 
a  place  in  the  Christian  system,  and  which  confessedly 
strips  all  the  glory  from  the  sinner  and  gives  it  to  God. 

III.  The  same  tendency  of  the  Gospel  appears  in 
its  apphcation.  Christ  is  made  of  God  unto  us  sancti- 
fication,  "  that,  according  as  it  is  written,  He  that  glo- 
rieth  let  him  glory  in  the  Lord." 

As  the  race  were  condemned  by  the  law  to  the  curse 
of  eternal  abandonment,  the  Spirit  could  not  come  to 
men  without  the  mediation  of  Christ.  By  his  atone  • 
ment  he  made  it  consistent  with  the  honour  of  the  law  to 
set  this  curse  aside,  and  as  the  reward  of  his  obedience 
he  obtained  this  positive  good  for  men.  He  told  his  disci- 
ples, "  It  is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away  ;  for  if  I 
go  not  away  the  Comforter  will  not  come  unto  you,  but 
if  I  depart  I  will  send  him  unto  you."  "  For  the  Holy 
Ghost  was  not  yet  given,  because  that  Jesus  was  not 
yet  glorified."  But  when  he  ascended  on  high,  among 
his  other  gifts  he  received  this  for  men,  "  that  the  Lord 
God  might  dwell  among  them."     And  within  ten  days 


DISC.  XIII.  CREATURES   HLUVIBLED.  489 

he  sent  out "  the  Lord"  the  "  Spirit"  to  abide  in  the 
Church  forever.  As  he  had  given  bonds  lor  the  pay- 
ment of  the  price,  he  received  this  purchased  good  in 
Eden,  and  apphed  it  to  the  sanctification  of  all  the  saints 
of  the  Old  Testament.  This  is  tlie  origin  of  all  the 
holiness  that  has  ever  been  found  in  our  world  since 
the  fall. 

The  heathen  philosophers  depended  on  the  self-de- 
termining power  of  the  will  for  all  their  personal  virtue, 
and  on  their  self-taught  ethics  for  the  reformation  of  the 
world.  And  even  many  who  have  been  baptised  have 
contended  earnestly  for  this  independence  of  the  human 
will.  In  opposition  to  all  these  proud  aspirations,  the 
Gospel  casts  the  world  for  sanctification  on  the  Spirit 
of  God  and  the  purchase  of  Christ. 

Nor  is  this  all.  In  their  spiritual  death  it  finds  no- 
thing in  them  to  aid  their  resurrection, — nothing  but 
what  is  opposed  to  life, — and  ascribes  to  God,  not  only 
the  whole  power,  but  a  conquering  power, — "  the  work- 
ing of — tnighty  power,"  as  great  as  that  "  which  he 
wrought  in  Christ  when  he  raised  him  fi-om  the  dead 
and  set  him  at  his  own  right  hand  in  the  heavenly 
places."  This  casts  them  dead  and  helpless  into  the 
hands  of  a  sovereign  God,  and  leaves  with  him,  in  the 
most  absolute  sense,  the  decision  of  their  fate.  "  There- 
fore hath  he  mercy  on  whom  he  will  have  mercy,"  and 
whom  he  will  1  le  resigns  to  judicial  hardness.  He  be- 
stows salvation  on  whom  he  pleases,  and  withholds  it 
from  whom  he  pleases, — holding  this  reason  over  u 
62 


490  GOD  EXALTED,  DISC.  XIII. 

subject  and  trenibliiig  world,  "  Is  it  not  lawful  for  me 
to  do  wliat  I  will  with  my  own  ?"  No  antecedent  cir- 
cumstance of  dispositionor  puipose  or  virtue  or  wisdom 
or  learning  or  station  or  birth  or  any  other  known 
thing  in  sinners  themselves  has  the  least  influence.  It 
is  all  of  grace,— free,  sovereign  grace.  For  the  discri- 
mination he  has  a  reason  ;  but  to  hold  them  down  to 
their  place  and  to  assert  his  absolute  supremacy  over 
them,  he  will  not  tell  them  what  it  is.  "  He  giveth 
not  account  of  any  of  his  matters."  Intrenched  in 
infinite  wisdom  and  rectitude,  of  which  heaven  and 
earth  are  filled  with  proofs,  he  will  have  them  know 
that  he  will  do  what  he  will  with  his  own  without 
explaining  himself  to  them ;  and  their  business  is  to 
submit  in  silent  adoration.  Thus  he  takes  the  highest 
possible  stand  of  authority,  and  puts  them  down  as  low 
as  sinners  can  lie  under  a  sceptre  of  mercy  ;  and  makes 
them  love  to  lie  there  and  see  him  enthroned,  and  love 
to  find  their  heaven  in  the  dust. 

Is  it  not  for  the  order  and  happiness  of  a  family  that 
the  rights  of  a  wise  and  benevolent  father  should  be 
admitted,  and  if  government  is  any  thing  to  the  family, 
that  they  should  be  maintained  ?  As  God  created  all 
things  for  the  gratification  of  his  benevolence,  the  whole 
is  his  absolute  property,  and  he  has  the  most  perfect 
right,  while  he  respects  the  rights  of  creatures,  to  do 
what  he  will  with  his  own  universe.  He  is  entitled  to 
love,  gratitude,  and  praise,  and  has  a  right  to  require 
these  of  his  creatures,  and  to  bind  together  and  tranquil- 


DISC.  Xm,  CREATURES  HUMBLED,  491 

lize  the  universe  by  the  exercise  of  liis  authority.  And 
it  is  infinitely  important  to  the  harmony  and  happiness 
of  the  whole,  and  particularly  to  the  union  of  creatures 
with  him,  that  his  rights  should  be  fully  admitted  and 
maintained.  And  if  ignorance  and  prejudice  are  not 
to  be  taken  in  as  counsellors,  the  government  of  infinite 
wisdom  and  love  ought  to  be  absolute.  And  it  serves 
all  these  purposes  to  inure  creatures  to  submit  to  his 
providence  without  a  question,  and  to  his  law  with  no 
other  question  than  to  ascertain  his  will.  Upon  this 
principle  it  was  that  in  the  commencement  of  his  go- 
vernment over  this  world,  he  selected  a  tree  and  forbad 
all  approach  to  that,  with  no  other  reason  assigned  than 
that  it  was  his  sovereign  will :  and  if  it  was  a  small 
matter  to  legislate  about,  so  much  the  better  for  that : 
the  less  the  apparent  reason  for  the  prohibition,  the 
more  obvious  the  claim  to  unquestioning  obedience. 

Thus  every  part  of  the  Gospel  is  calculated  to  abase 
the  pride  of  man,  to  break  and  subdue  and  humble  the 
sinner,  to  support  the  rights,  the  claims,  the  government 
of  God,  and  to  give  all  the  glory  to  him.  Whatever 
light  or  holiness  or  title  to  salvation  we  possess,  comes 
from  God  through  the  Redeemer.  We  are  ignorant 
and  foolish,  he  is  our  wisdom ;  we  are  guilty,  he  is 
our  righteousness ;  we  are  depraved,  lie  is  our  sanctifi- 
cation ;  we  are  in  bonds,  he  is  our  redemption.  In 
every  part  the  character  of  God  appears  most  glorious, 
and  that  of  man  most  deformed.  And  all  this  exhibi- 
tion is  made  that  God  may  be  seen  as  he  is, — that  men 


492  «0D   RXA1.TED,  DISC.  XIII. 

may  know  liini  and  know  tlieir  obligations  to  him, 
and  grow  up  into  eteinal  union  with  him, — and  that 
all  holy  creatures  may  see  his  glory  and  take  their 
proper  place  at  his  feet,  and  go  in  to  constitute  a  united, 
happy,  and  glorious  universe. 

Whatever  brings  out  God  to  view  exalts  him,  abases 
sinners,  and  humbles  and  blesses  the  creation.  Let  us 
then  see  what  and  how  much  of  God  is  revealed  in  the 
plan  of  salvation. 

In  the  first  place,  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost 
are  brought  out  to  view  in  their  own  proper  and  infi- 
nitely important  characters ;  a  distinction  never  whis- 
pered to  the  universe  in  any  of  his  other  works.  In 
the  next  place,  his  inflexible  resolution,  at  all  hazards, 
to  support  his  moral  empire  over  the  creation,  comes 
out ;  disclosing  his  infinite  attachment  to  all  the  princi- 
ples of  his  law  and  to  the  happiness  which  it  subserves, 
and  thus  manifesting  his  holiness,  justice,  and  benevo- 
lence. In  the  next  place,  his  amazing  compassion  and 
mercy  and  patience  and  condescension  and  accessible- 
ness  and  truth  are  brought  to  light :  his  power  too,  in 
subduing  the  carnal  heart,  in  restraining,  bounding, 
and  defeating  all  the  machinations  of  Satan,  in  con- 
quering all  his  enemies  and  carrying  their  counsels 
headlong,  in  forcing  them  unwittingly  to  prop  his 
throne  and  execute  his  decrees  and  help  fill  the  universe 
with  his  glory. 

But  the  wisdom  elicited  is  that  on  which  I  wish 
chiefly  to  dwell.     This  wonderful  plan  of  the  incarna- 


DISC.  XIII.  CREATURES  HUMBLED.  493 

tion  was  tlie  forming  of  a  connecting  link  between 
finite  and  infinite  natures,  and  filling  up  the  whole 
chasm  between  God  and  us.  It  was  bringing  down 
the  infinite  God  within  the  reach  of  creatures, — was 
bringing  out  the  invisible  God  to  the  view  of  creatures, 
— was  concentrating,  as  it  were,  the  omnipresent  God 
to  a  point  and  throwing  all  his  glories  from  the  face  of 
Jesus  Christ.  It  was  laying  out  the  divine  perfections 
upon  a  human  scale,  and  expressing  them  through  hu- 
man organs  and  amidst  human  relations, — the  most 
intelligible  way  of  exhibiting  God  to  men.  And  the 
angels  themselves,  we  are  taught  to  beUeve,  more  fami- 
liarly apprehend  God,  and  more  easily  hold  intercourse 
with  hun,  for  this  medium  of  vision  and  communion. 

By  the  union  of  two  mfinitely  dissimilar  natures  in 
one  Person,  the  wisdom  of  God  contrived  to  make  an 
infinite  Person  mortal ;  and  by  that  means  found  out 
a  way  to  punish  sin  and  let  the  sinner  go  unpunished ; 
to  support  his  law  without  executing  its  penalty  on  the 
transgressor,  and  even  to  give  it  more  authority  than 
though  it  had  been  Uterally  executed. 

He  confounded  the  wisdom  of  men  by  the  triumphs 
of  that  very  weakness  which  provoked  their  contempt, 
and  by  making,  in  various  ways,  the  most  unpromising 
means  lead  to  the  most  splendid  success. 

He  so  shaped  the  Gospel,  that,  in  eveiy  part,  it 
should  be  at  war  with  pride,  and  touch  it  in  every  ten- 
der spot,  and  call  into  the  field  every  arm  of  that  foe, 
and  exhibit  it  before  heaven  and  earth  in  the  hideous 


494  «0D  KXALTED,  DISC.  XIII. 

uUitude  of  warring  against  all  the  love  and  authority  of 
the  Gospel.  A  system  so  calculated  to  cause  that  atro- 
cious enemy  to  writhe  under  unwelcome  authority, 
under  unbearable  humiliations,  under  overwhelming 
disgrace, — to  rage  and  blaspheme  and  assault  the  hea- 
vens,— was  fitted  to  make  a  thorough  experiment  upon 
the  human  character  and  upon  the  nature  of  sin,  and 
to  bring  out  both  in  a  way  to  set  off,  before  a  wondering 
universe,  the  double  glory  of  justice  and  mercy. 

He  pressed  into  the  service  of  his  cause  all  the  agents 
in  the  wicked  world  ; — the  policy  of  kings,  the  pride  of 
philosophers,  the  craft  of  priests,  and  the  very  ferocity  of 
bloody  persecution.  "  The  wrath  of-  man  shall  praise" 
him,  either  by  stringing  a  harp  in  heaven  or  by  lighting 
the  fires  of  his  justice  in  hell.  The  sins  of  the  elect 
shall  praise  him.  The  more  one  of  that  number  has 
dishonoured  God,  the  more  God  will  be  honoured  in 
his  salvation. 

He  defeated  all  the  stratagems  of  Satan  and  effectu- 
ally bruised  the  serpent's  head.  The  greatest  dishonour 
cast  upon  God,  was  made  to  redound  to  his  greatest 
glory:  the  greatest  contempt  cast  upon  his  law,  was 
made  the  occasion  of  the  greatest  honour  done  to  the 
law.  Satan  meant  to  rob  God  of  the  glory  of  creating 
the  human  race ;  but  by  the  instrumentality  of  that 
very  foe,  God  olDtained  more  glory  by  the  human  race 
than  angels,  men,  or  devils  ever  thought  of.  Satan 
aimed  to  ruin  a  world  which  God,  in  all  its  virgin  love- 
liness, had  reared  ;  but   God  will  raise   up,  from  the 


DISC.  XIII.  CREATURES  HUMBLED.  495 

ashes  of  the  old,  tlie  new  heavens  and  new  earth,  in 
more  than  their  original  glory.  Satan  envied  a  race 
made  to  fill  the  place  of  his  legions  in  heaven  ;  but  that 
very  nature  which  he  sought  to  destioy,  is  advanced  to 
the  throne  of  the  universe.  He  thought  to  make  men 
his  slaves  ;  they  will  be  his  judges  and  sentence  him  to 
endless  torment.  Elect  man  is  a  gainer  by  his  own 
ruin.  His  sin  is  made  the  occasion  of  higher  advances 
in  hohness ;  for  to  whom  much  is  forgiven  the  same 
loveth  much.  His  misery  is  made  the  occasion  of  his 
greater  blessedness  ;  for  a  taste  of  wretchedness  gives  a 
higher  relish  for  happiness,  and  the  great  oljject  of  en- 
joyment is  more  fully  revealed,  and  he  will  be  forever 
transported  with  gratitude  to  his  Redeemer.  He  has 
become  more  sensibly  dependant  on  God  for  holiness 
and  happmess,  because  he  receives  both  as  the  purchase 
of  Christ,  and  because  he  has  been  raised  from  the 
depths  of  sin  and  misery.  By  means  of  his  union  with 
the  incarnate  Son,  he  is  brought  into  a  closer  union 
with  God:  "That  they  all  may  be  one;  as  thou, 
Father,  art  in  me  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be 
one  in  us. — I  in  them  and  thou  in  me,  that  they  may 
be  made  perfect  in  one."  When  Satan  had  nailed  the 
Saviour  to  the  cross,  he  thought  he  had  triumphed ; 
but  he  only  pulled  the  building  down  upon  his  own 
head.  The  weapons  with  which  Christ  went  forth 
were  hke  the  sling  and  the  stone,  they  were  poverty, 
reproaches,  sufferings,  and  death.  He  prevailed  by 
becoming  weak,  and  conquered  by  dying.     As  the 


496  COD  KXALTED,  DISC.  XIII- 

heatl  of  (loliath  was  severed  by  his  own  sword,  so  Christ 
prevailed  against  his  giant  enemy  by  the  cross ;  "  and 
having  spoiled  principalities  and  powers,  he  made  a 
show  of  them  o])enly,  triumphing  over  them  m  ii^  In 
a  word,  God  has  made  the  seduction,  sin,  and  ruin  of 
man  the  occasion  of  all  the  good  resulting  from  the 
work  of  redemption. 

And  finally,  the  wisdom  of  God  appears  in  that 
capital  measure  to  vindicate  his  own  impartiahty,  the 
appointment  of  the  Friend  and  Brother  of  man  to  be 
his  Judge.  "  The  Father — hath  given  hun  authority 
to  execute  judgment  also  hecmise  he  is  the  Son  of 
man." 

In  view  only  of  a  small  part  of  this  wonderful  plan, 
the  apostle  exclaims,  "  O  the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of 
the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God,  How  unsearchable 
are  his  judgments,  and  his  ways  past  finding  out." 
The  very  angels  "  desire  to  look  into"  these  "  things." 
Indeed  we  are  expressly  told  that  God  "  created  all 
things  by  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  intent  that  now  unto  the 
principalities  and  powers  in  heavenly  places,  might  be 
known  hy  the  Church  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God." 
This  then  was  the  design  of  creation,— that  the  divine 
wisdom,  (which  is  intellect  and  knowledge  duected  to 
practical  ends  by  moral  attributes,)  might  be  mani- 
fested to  the  angels,  and  by  a  parity  of  reason  to  the 
whole  creation,  by  the  work  of  redemption.  This 
shows  that  the  wisdom  here  unfolded  is  greater  than  the 
angels  possess,  and  greater  than  they  see  displayed  in 


DISC.  Xlll.  CREATURES  HUMBLED.  497 

any  other  world.  They  are  put  to  sctiool  on  thit!  pla- 
net, ill  distinction  from  all  other  worlds  which  they 
visit,  to  learn  "  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God." 

In  short,  all  tlie  perfections  of  God,  (unless  we  are  to 
except  the  exhibitions  of  his  justice  in  hell,)  are  more 
displayed  iii  this  work  than  in  any  other  work  or  in 
any  other  world,  and  perhaps  more  than  in  all  othei 
ways,  and  so  far  as  we  can  see,  more  than  could  have 
been  exhibited  hj  any  other  means.  The  wliole  will 
form  a  constellation  of  glory  the  most  dazzling  that 
ever  met  a  created  eye, — a  glory  that  will  consti- 
tute by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  happiness  of  the 
creation. 

Why  should  you  think  that  this  grandest  of  all  the 
exhibitions  of  God  will  be  shut  up  in  the  nut-shell  of 
a  single  world  ?  Why  should  you  thus  degrade  Christ 
and  his  work  ?  Have  we  no  revelation  on  this  subject  ? 
We  are  distinctly  enough  told  that  all  the  worlds  of 
wliich  we  have  any  knowledge  were  created  in  one 
week,  and  will  be  destroyed  and  renovated  together. 
And  why  should  not  their  inhabitants  have  at  least 
some  knowledge  of  the  general  judgment  ?  We  are 
told  that  all  worlds  without  exception  were  made  by 
the  "First-born"  and  "Heir  of  all  things,"  and  that 
"without  him  was  not  any  thing  made  tliat  was 
made ;" — that  "  all  things  were  created  by  him  and/o?- 
him ;" — and  that  in  reward  of  liis  work  on  eartli  "  all 
things  arc  pat  luider  hhn,"  with  tlie  single  exception 
of  him  that  "  put  all  things  under  him. '  And  is  it  to 
63 


498  GOD  EXALTED,  DISC.  XIII. 

be  believed  that  the  worlds  which  the  Redeemer  made 
for  his  own  purpose,  and  received  as  a  part  of  his  empii-e 
for  his  work  on  earth,  will  be  kept  in  eternal  ignorance 
of  him  and  his  work  ?  that  a  family  of  worlds  which 
were  born  and  died  together,  will  be  eternally  so  severed 
by  the  common  Parent,  that  no  report  of  the  miracle  of 
the  universe,  ^viought  in  this  world,  will  ever  reach  the 
rest  ?  that  so  little  economy  will  be  used  in  instructing 
the  creation,  as  that  a  school,  opened  here  at  infinite 
expense,  and  capable  of  sending  the  highest  lessons 
gratuitously  to  all  worlds,  and  at  which  the  whole  uni- 
verse might  graduate,  w^ill  be  put  under  a  bushel  ?  If 
God  "  created  all  things  by  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  intend' 
that  all  heaven  should  take  lessons  of  wisdom  from 
this  university,  is  it  credible  that  other  Avorlds,  created 
expressly  to  subserve  this  institution,  and  known  to  be 
connected  with  its  Head,  should  be  excluded  from  the 
tuition?  As  this  earth,  (to  use  another  figure)  was 
erected  only  for  a  stage  on  which  the  Messiah  might 
declare  and  act  out  the  perfections  of  the  Godhead,  sub- 
servient worlds  seem  intended  as  seats  in  the  gieat  am- 
phitheatre from  which  the  amazed  spectators  may  view 
the  scene.  Yes,  they  shall  hear  of  Calvary.  The 
wonderful  report  will  travel  from  world  to  world  until  it 
reaches  the  utmost  bounds  of  the  creation,  and  will 
hold  in  perpetual  astonishment  and  transport  the  whole 
family  of  God.  That  Gospel  which  creatures  of  the 
dust  despise,— which  infidel  insects  trample  under  foot, 


DISC.  XIII.  C  REATURES   HUMBLED.  499 

— is  the  grandest  means  that  God  has  employed,  not 
merely  to  raise  one  world  from  pollution  and  shame  and 
eternal  despair,  but  to  elevate  and  aggrandize  and  glo- 
rify the  universe,  and  fill  it  with  the  highest  blessedness 
that  comes  from  God,  And  when  creatures  shall  see 
the  universe  thus  supremely  blest,  ^vill  they  not  look 
back  to  Eden  and  adore  the  wisdom  that  did  not 
restrain  the  first  transgression  ? 

As  the  amazing  story  wanders  to  other  planets  and 
systems,  this  earth  will  become  the  centre  of  the  crea- 
tion. AU  worlds  will  gather  around  this  sphere  and 
send  their  exploring  eyes  to  Calvary,  to  drink  in  the 
lessons  of  love,  wisdom,  and  power  which  emanate 
from  that  school  of  the  .universe.  And  while  all  eyes 
are  turned  that  way,  1  plant  myself  on  the  sacred 
mount,  and  in  the  centre  of  a  boundless  amphitheatre, 
enjoy  the  transports  of  worlds, — of  all  worlds  but  one. 
And  as  I  see  the  whole  holy  creation  wrapt  in  high  and 
ecstatic  contemplations,  and  filling  their  respective 
spheres  with  the  songs  of  Bethlehem,  I  feel  an  irrepres- 
sible desire  to  call  out  infidels  before  the  creation  of 
God,  and  demand,  What  now  think  you  of  Christ? 
But  not  an  infidel  is  to  be  found.  The  few  that  broke 
their  way  to  hell  through  light  that  Bartimeus  might 
have  seen,  are  infidels  no  more.  To  that  world  I 
would  send  my  voice,  and  say,  Ye  Porphyries,  and 
Julians,  and  Voltaires,  what  now  think  you  of  the 
work  of  redemption  ?  Ye  abandoned  men  and  women, 
who  would  have  annihilated  the  Bible  and  tiie  mar- 


.'(10  tiOD   KXALTEP,  DISC,  XIII. 

iiatr»5  covenant,  ajid  turned  the  universe  into  a  brothel, 
wliat  think  you  of  the  Christian  rehgion  now? 

There  is  another  spot  in  the  universe  to  which  I  wish 
to  come.  It  is  to  the  feet  of  the  enthroned  Lamb.  O 
how  will  the  redeemed  companies  collect  together  on 
the  banks  of  heaven  and  recount  the  wondrous  story, 
with  all  the  history  of  their  deliverances.  And  then, 
as  they  look  up  and  see  the  naU-prints,  with  what  in- 
effable gratitude  will  they  cast  their  crowns  at  his  feet 
find  say,  "  Unto  him  that  loved  us  and  washed  us  from 
our  sins  in  his  own  blood,  and  hath  made  us  kings  and 
priests  unto  God  and  his  Father,  to  him  be  glory  and 
dominion  for  ever  and  ever."  The  elect  angels,  who 
are  brought  into  a  special  relation  to  Christ  as  their 
Head,  will  rapturously  join  the  song.  Other  holy  crea- 
tures will  perhaps  be  gathered  home  from  new  or  reno- 
vated worlds  in  different  periods  of  eternity,  and  their 
voices  will  join  the  concert.  John  had  a  vision  of  this 
heavenly  oratorio.  The  redeemed  began  the  song ; 
the  angels  next  struck  in  ;  and  before  they  had  done, 
the  whole  creation  were  employed  in  bursting  praise. 
"  And  they  sung  a  new  song,  saying,  Thou  art 
worthy ; — for  thou  wast  slain  and  hast  redeemed  us  to 
God  by  thy  blood, — and  hast  made  us  unto  our  God  kings 
and  priests.— And  I  beheld  and  I  heard  the  voice  of 
many  angels  round  about  the  throne,— saying  with  a 
loud  voice,  Worthy  is  the  Laml3  that  was  slain  to  re- 
ceive powei  and  riches  and  wisdom  and  strength  and 
hoiKMir  find   oloiy  and   blessing.     And  every  creature 


DISC.  XIII.  CREATURES  HUMBLED.  501 

which  is  in  heaven  and  on  the  earth  and  under  the 
earth,  and  such  as  are  in  the  sea,  and  all  that  are  in 
them,  heard  I  saying,  Blessing  and  honour  and  gloiy 
and  power  be  unto  him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne 
and  unto  the  Lamb  for  ever  and  ever."  O  may  I  be 
there.  Scatter  those  little  things  that  kings  call  crowns, 
among  those  that  will  pick  them  up ;  but  O  may  I  be 
there  and  join  in  the  song  that  celebrates  my  Re- 
deemer's praise.  Be  that  my  heaven, — my  eternal 
recreation  and  delight.    Amen. 


DATE  DUE 

^^^mmmm 

wim- 

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CAYLOHD 

PR.NTEOmU.S    A.       1 

